It's All In The Blood
by Sam-453
Summary: COMPLETE!Chapter 72 up. James and Lily Potter gave up their daughter Anne when they were only seventeen. Now she discovers her true roots and her whole life is affected.
1. Anne Lily Potter

It's All In The Blood

This is inspired by a story called 'stars not in heaven' by Water Mage.(which you should all go read when you've read this if you haven't already!!) The basic idea is the same, and the second I read the first chapter of that story, I just had my own version following through my head- I had to write it. So thanx, W.M, for letting me use your idea, and giving me the inspiration in the first place. The first chapter, I have to admit, is very similar to Water Mage's, but then it will be totally different.

Disclaimer: I don't own either of them. Wish I did, but that's life.

Time frame: Begins in the summer after book five of Harry Potter, and S3 of Buffy.

I spent ages trying to think of a title for this, and had to ask all the people on my school coach for ideas. I had one person telling me to call it 'Buffy, could she be any sadder' who I promptly threatened, one coming up with great names that had nothing to do with anything, one person (who will remain nameless, but U NO WHO U ARE!!) who SED she would help, but ended up reading a Kiera Knightly interview in MY magazine instead!! SO, after much stress, here it is.

I hope you guys like it.

Chapter 1 

"James- I can't…" Lily sobbed, looking down at her newborn child.

            "Lily, darling, we have to. We're still at school! You're seventeen years old, Lil…"

            "I know, I know. Of course I can't keep her. I just wish life was simpler, I mean, maybe if Voldemort wasn't so powerful and we were older…"

            "I know Lil." He kissed the top of her head, putting an arm around her. Lily held her daughter tight, and a tear fell from her own cheek onto that of the baby.

            "Know that we love you, baby." She said, "We will always love you. Maybe one day we will be reunited again." James nodded, and the woman from the adoption agency stepped forwards,

            "I have to ask you to sign here." She told them handing the young parents the form. She wished she didn't have to do this kind of thing so often. The love in the young couples eyes almost broke her heart.

            "Will she keep our name?" Lily asked.

            "That will be up to her new parents." The woman said. 

            "So she might only be Anne Lily Potter for a few weeks?" James said. The woman nodded,

            "Yes. That's just how it works." She shrugged. They nodded, Lily caressing her daughters cheek one last time. 

            "I love you my darling daughter." She whispered. "Be strong. Be safe. By Merlin's beard I pray nothing ever happens to you." Although the phrase was strange to the adoption agent, she felt how much this meant to the teenagers. "Make sure she goes to a loving home. Please take care of my baby." Lily said through her tears.

            "Of course." The woman replied. Then she turned to James, lowering her voice, "Take care of her, ok? Mothers tend to take this hard." James nodded. "If you need any help or information, my name is Sarah Connors."

            "Thank you." James said, his voice empty. Lily handed her child to Sarah, and buried her face in James shoulder as her daughter was taken away.

Eighteen years later, Buffy Summers sat on her bed, huddling close to her best friends, Willow Rosenberg and Xander Harris.

            "I just can't believe it." She said quietly. "After everything… Faith, the mayor, Angel leaving… how can she have just died?"

            "I'm so sorry Buffy." Willow said for the thousandth time.

            "Buff, if there is anything we can do…" Xander began.

            "You guys have done enough. What would I do without you?" Tears began to spill again, and the slayer broke into sobs once more. It was the day of her mother's funeral. She had died almost a week ago from a brain tumour no one even knew was there until it was too late. Buffy wiped her eyes a few minutes later, and sighed, "I'm gonna have to go through her stuff, aren't I?" She said with a grimace.

            "You don't have to do that now Buffy." Willow said.

            "I gotta do something." Buffy replied. She felt that if she didn't do something now then she might never move again. Her friends followed her into the next room- her mother's room. Buffy headed for the dresser, choosing a random starting place. She opened the top drawer, and found various cosmetics, including a lipstick she'd borrowed countless times. Buffy held it for a moment, before slamming the drawer closed, and moving on to the next one. The next drawer held all sorts of paper, neatly ordered and filed, bank statements, gallery information, and… _oh, me._ Buffy thought. She pulled out the file labelled 'Buffy'. Inside she found school reports from years back, a birthday card she'd made for her mother when she was about five, a birth certificate… Buffy paused. This was her file; all stuff about her, so why did this birth certificate say 'Anne Lily Potter'? Buffy kept going through, frowning, until she came across another couple of official looking documents- the first was the paper work for a name change from _Anne_ Lily Potter to Buffy _Anne_ Summers. The slayers heart began to race. She turned her eyes to the other piece of paper, wanting to look and wanting to run at the same time. Willow and Xander saw her eyes widen in shock as she read. When she turned her eyes to them, they both saw fear and pain even worse than before within them.

            "Buff, what is it?" Xander asked as Buffy slid to the ground, her back against the dresser. Willow took the piece of paper from her, and read it.

            "Buffy… this isn't you…" She said, confused. Buffy handed her the name change paper, and Willow's eyes went wide. 

            "What!?" Xander demanded, grabbing the papers. "Holy googly-moogleys." He said. It was an adoption certificate for Anne Lily Potter.

            "Why did my mom never tell me?" Buffy asked, shaken. "How did she never tell me?" Buffy looked at the birth certificate again- according to this, her parents' names were James Potter and Lily Evans, and she had been born in London, in England. Buffy snorted an empty laugh, "I'm English." She said.

----

Short starter chapter.

U like? Please review!! 

Some of you might have noticed that the adoption agent's name is the same as the woman from terminator. This means nothing!! I just wrote the first name that came into my head!!

Oh! And you must also all go check out Becks89's stories. They rock!!


	2. Parents

Hey hey!! New chapter within two days!! Any of you how are familiar with my writing will know that that is totally incredible! But I just really like this story myself, and I felt like being nice. 

So Becca, u betta be happy!!

Thank you sooooo much for all your reviews!! Its been amazing!! 18+ for one chapter in less than two days!! Wow. I feel honoured!! Hey… this could have something to do with me posting so quickly… (hint hint)

Now I'll stop blabbering… AH! Cept one thing! No, two things:

Keri Carlson, Buffy/Giles pairings have always made me wanna hurl, so sorry, this story is sooooooo not going that way.

And…

Vld, Don't u worry, no terminatoriness, it was totally random that the name 'sarah Connors' came into my head. I actuallt cringed when I wrote it even, but nothing else would work once I thought of it. I change her name a bit in a minute though. I couldn't take it!!

So now ill stop blabbering!! Enjoy!!

Chapter 2 

            "Hi, can I speak to Hank Summers please?" Buffy asked the receptionist. It was several hours later, and after talking to Giles and her friends, she had decided to phone her father- there was plenty they needed to talk about.

            "Who is this?" She was asked.

            "This is Buffy Summers. His _daughter._" She replied.

            "_Oh…_ Ok, one moment please." A sickly sweet tune began to play, and Buffy rolled her eyes. About five minutes later, another voice took over.

            "Hello? Buffy?"

            "Dad."

            "Hey, Sweet heart, how are you?"

Buffy felt severely sick.

            "Don't give me that crap, Dad! Mom died last week and when I tried to tell you, the best I could get was a friggin' answering machine- and you didn't even phone back!"

            "Darling, I'm very busy…"

            "Jesus, Dad, she's _DEAD!_"

            "Buffy, would you calm down? I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you."

            "I don't want you here. First thing I _want_ is for you to pay all the money you owe to my mother."

            "Of course, I know I've been a bit behind…"

            "Second is I want to know why you never told me I was adopted." This obviously came as a shock.

            "Buffy…"

            "Tell me."

            "We were going to tell you…"

            "When, exactly? I've graduated from high school, Dad! I'm legally an adult!"

            "We were going to tell you when you turned eighteen- if your mother didn't…"

            "Don't you _dare_ blame this on her!" I believe this is known as slayer rage. "You worthless piece of crap!! Don't you dare!" Buffy screamed down the phone. Giles took it from her, pushing Buffy towards Willow, who wrapped her arms around her. The rest of the conversation was rushed and quiet, Giles trying his best not to let Buffy hear as he told Mr Summers that he better pay up, because if he thought Joyce was persistent, his daughter was a hundred times that. Mr Summers didn't even know who Giles was, but left it- he felt completely inadequate right now, but knew all too well that going to see his adoptive daughter wasn't going to change a thing.

            "I hate him!" Buffy cried out when Giles hung up. "Why does my father have to be such a…" She stopped suddenly, and sat back from Willow's embrace. Her eyes were wide in realisation. "He's not my father." She said. "I have to find my real parents."

            "Buffy…" Giles sighed, "That won't change the fact that you've always considered him your father…"

             "I know, I know." Buffy said, brushing off his statement. "This isn't even about that, I just realised that I need to know who they are. I have to know what they're like, and why they left me. I have to know Giles."

The watcher sighed again, feeling such pity for his slayer, whose life had been devastated over the past week.

            "I'll do what ever I can." He told her.

            "Yeh, so will we!" Willow agreed, nudging Xander, who nodded emphatically. 

            "Thanks you guys." Buffy said, smiling wider than she had in quite a while. "Will- could you do a search for them? I know they're probably English, but there should be something somewhere, right? I'm gonna try phoning the adoption agency- maybe the agent will know something about them." They all nodded, and Willow got out her laptop. Buffy once again picked up the papers, scanning through, and found a contact number. Giles gave her an encouraging smile, and she left the room, wanting to be alone. She sat on her mother's bed upstairs, and rang the number.

            "St. Francis' Children's Society, how may I help you?" Answered a chirpy British voice.

            "Erm, Hi. I'm looking for Sarah Connors, I think she works with you, or at least used to."

            "Connors…we don't have a Connors, I'm afraid…"

Buffy paused, verging on panic, what if she couldn't find her?

            "Then can you tell me where she went?" she demanded.

            "I can try, miss. Let me see…Connors, Connors…" Buffy heard another muffled voice in the background, and the woman chuckled, "Oh I see… You mean Sarah Meyers! She got married, dear."

            "Oh. If you say so… then can I talk to her, please?"

            "She's busy right now. Wait one moment while I see if she can take your call." Buffy agreed, and tapped her fingers on the bedspread while another irritating tune played. 

            "God I hate being put on hold." Buffy murmured to herself. A few minutes later, the woman returned,

            "Hello?"

            "Yeh?"

            "Yes, Mrs Meyers can spare a moment, I'll put you through." Buffy swallowed. She was about to talk to someone who had known her parents. Suddenly she couldn't remember what she was meant to say.

            "Hello?" Answered a new voice.

            "Hi, erm, is this Sarah Connors… I mean, Meyers?"

            "Yes, dear, Connors was my maiden name. How can I help you?"

            "My name is Buffy Summers, and I just found out I was adopted. You were the agent my parents went through- I was wondering if you could tell me anything about them."

            "I have no record of a Buffy Summers… Oh, Joyce and Hank Summers? Anne Potter?"

            "Yeah, sorry, that's right, they changed my name." Buffy said, flustered, she was so close, but so scared to go further.

            "Yes… I'm afraid I need parental consent, Miss Summers."

            "My Mom died last week. It was when I was sorting her stuff that I found the papers."

There was a moment of silence while Sarah Meyers had no clue what to say. The girl had lost her mother, and then found out that she wasn't really her mother at all, all within a week. Sarah suddenly felt so insignificant, as if her life was so trivial when other people had to suffer so.

            "And, your adoptive father?" She managed.

            "-Left us years ago, didn't even come to the funeral. He hasn't been my father for a long time." Buffy replied coldly.

            "Ah. And how old are you, Miss Summers?"

            "I'm eighteen."

            "Then I suppose we can go ahead…" Buffy could hear computer keys in the background. "Ah yes, Potter… Miss Summers, I'm afraid this cannot be done over the phone." Sarah forced herself to say. "I really wish I could, I understand how awful all this must be, but I need proof of who you are, for legal purposes; and there are some things I think we should discuss in person."

            "Er, yeah, ok…" Buffy stammered.

            "So if you could come in to the agency…"

            "Erm, I live in California." Buffy said.

            "Oh. Well that is a little awkward… but still, Miss Summers, I cannot give out this information over the phone, I'm sorry."

            "No. I understand. I'll come."

            "Alright. Just come when you can, phone in and say who you are and I'll clear a space for you right away, alright?"

            "Yes. Thank you." Buffy said. She had heard the catch in Mrs Meyers voice towards the end of the conversation. There was something she couldn't tell Buffy on the phone- something bad. Something Buffy wasn't sure she wanted to know, but at the same time, she knew she needed to. She went back downstairs to the others.

            "Anything, Will?" She asked. Willow shook her head, frowning,

            "Not exactly… Lots of _Harry_ Potter. Some of them have reference to James Potter, but these sites are crazy."

            "What do you mean?" Buffy asked.

            "Well- look at this one, there's something about James Potter somewhere, but the site is huge, loads of message boards and stuff… here, 'Harry Potter- the boy who lived', there's all these message boards… 'I love Harry Potter, he's like so cool.'… 'You don't even know him! I actually talked to him last year at school!' 'Oh my god, you _know_ Harry Potter!?' I mean, it sounds like he's some sorta celebrity, but I've never heard of him."

            "Me neither." Buffy agreed.

            "Shall I just move on?" Willow asked. But Buffy had the strangest feeling that this needed more attention.

            "Maybe he's a relative." She said weakly.

            "Ok then… here, I'll try joining in… oh crap."

            "What?"

            "You have to be a member. Wait a sec… Name; erm…"

            "Drusilla." Xander provided, grinning.

            "Ok, email, that's easy… what the heck? 'To register, you must take this test'? Never had to do _that_ before… ok, 'Who is the one _wizard_" She glanced at the others, "who 'you know who' is afraid of?' What the hell does that mean?"

            "Put 'you know who.'" Buffy said, shrugging. Willow smiled, 

            "Ok. What potion can tame a werewolf? What the heck… there is no such thing!" Willow exclaimed. She wrote as much, and after a few more confusing questions, a box came up proclaiming 'You are a muggle'. Then they were allowed to continue. Willow was annoyed. She checked to see what members were on line, and found ' Harry's girl', ('well that's lame' Buffy said) who was labelled 'witch' Willow clicked to send 'Harry's girl' a message, and typed,

            **What is a muggle? Who is Harry Potter? Reply ASAP.**

Soon enough she received a message,

            ***Grins* Don't worry, muggle means you're not a witch or wizard. Harry Potter is the boy who lived.**

Willow stamped her foot.

            **What does that mean!?! And BTW, I _am_ a witch!!**

Then;

            **If you were a witch, you would a. know the answers to those questions, and b. know who Harry is. **

            "Urgh- irritating people." Willow murmured.

            "Will, you don't have to…"

            "No! I'm gonna find out." She snapped back.

            **I AM a witch, but that's not the point right now. Is Harry Potter related to anyone called James Potter or Lily Evans? If she married James, I guess she could be Lily Potter…**

This time the reply took a few minutes, as if Harry's girl was shocked. But then,

            **Well yeh. How did you know if you don't know who he is? They're his parents.**

The scoobies just starred at the screen.

            "It could just be a coincidence, right?" Xander said.

            "Yeah, sure, probably is." Buffy said, her voice clearly showing she didn't believe it. She pushed willow out of the way, taking over.

            **Did they have any other children? Where are they? Why is Harry Potter famous?**

Reply:

            **No, it was just Harry. Erm, they're dead. Harry is famous cos he didn't die. Who are you?**

Buffy felt empty. She knew these were the straightest answers she would get from Harry's girl. So she typed one last thing before logging off.

            **I am Anne Lily Potter. Daughter of James Potter and Lily Evans.**

**----**

Cue dramatic music.

[There, Rebecca, happy!? I'm updating it right now. Jeez you are sooo impatient!!]

Please review!! :D


	3. I need to know

Heya people!

Again, thanx for the phenomenal number of reviews!! You guys rule! 

Elsa- Sorry, I should have said this before, the HP books don't exist in this story. So yes, the sites are set up by muggle born witches/wizards (obviously normal ones wouldn't be using the internet if the Weasleys are anything to go by!) 

To all of you who thought you had 'Harry's girl' figured out, no, its not Hermione OR Ginny!! I've never thought of Harry and 'Mione like that- I don't think it would work. And Ginny is over Harry, this is after book five. To tell you the truth (shock horror) I don't know if Harry's girl will be revealed or not, it was just intended to be some random witch, but now you've given me the idea… could be very amusing, couldn't it?

Damn, I rambled. Enjoy the story, and don't forget to check out Water Mage's 'stars not in heaven' which inspired me to write this, and of course go look at Becks89's stuff too, cos she cool (when she s not bugging me… but hey… that would mean she never cool… *grins* kidding, becks.)

So now to the actually story, sorry :D …

Chapter 3

Buffy turned to her friends.

            "They're dead..."

            "No, Buff, we don't know if that's them! Its some freaky mad teenage girl website that managed to work that Will _isn't_ a witch! Its bull!" Xander insisted.

            "Thanks Xand." Buffy said, forcing a smile. "I need to book a plane ticket. I'm going to England."

            "What!?" Cried the others in unison.

            "I talked to the agent, but she can only give me info face to face. I need to know what happened, guys. I wanna know the truth."

            "Buffy, you don't know that she can give you any new information…" Giles began.

            "Yes I do, Giles, because I don't _know_ anything! Some stupid site means nothing. Plus- I just have to do _something_. Please understand, I have to do this."

            "I understand, Buffy." Willow said, "We'll all be right there for you."

            "Thanks Will… But I have to go alone."

Willow sighed, she'd known Buffy would say that.

            About a week later, Buffy got of the plane at London Heathrow. It was late at night, so she got a taxi to her hotel, where she had booked a room. Buffy lay down on the soft bed, completely exhausted, and felt tears come to her eyes. What if all this was for nothing? Was she just wasting her time? What if she found her parents, and they just told her that they'd gotten rid of her because they simply didn't want her? Buffy Anne Summers, formally Anne Lily Potter, the vampire slayer, cried herself to sleep.

            Buffy awoke early the next day, still tired but unable to sleep any longer. She picked up the phone to call room service for breakfast, but slammed it back down, her stomach rolling violently at the thought of food. Instead, she dressed in tracksuit trousers and a vest top and left the hotel, going to the park nearby to jog. She lost herself in thought, running round and round, and even after several laps she was still over taking all other joggers she saw. Eventually Buffy figured it was late enough to call the agency and returned to her room, showering and redressing in smarter clothes. Then Buffy got out the paper once more, and phoned Sarah Meyers.

            Buffy checked the address again, looking up at the tall central London buildings, which were never the less nothing on those in LA. Finding the right one, she entered and found herself in a reception area full of couples of all ages. Feeling very conspicuous as the only singleton there, Buffy went straight to the desk.

            "Hi, how can I help you?" The woman behind the desk asked. Buffy immediately recognised the voice as the one from the phone the week before.

            "Hi, I'm Buffy Summers. I'm here to see Sarah Meyers."

            "Oh of course! Let me check… yes, you can go right in Miss Summers." She indicated a door down the hall. Buffy thanked her and moved to the door, which had a plaque stating 'Sarah Meyers'. Buffy swallowed, her hand resting on the handle, and knocked.

            "Come in!" She heard from the other side. Buffy took a deep breath, and entered, smiling. "Hi, you must be Buffy." Sarah greeted her, standing, and offering her hand. The woman looked like she was in her late thirties, maybe early forties. She was pretty, and quite tall, or at least tall compared to Buffy.

            "Yeah. Hi." Buffy said. She closed the door, shook Sarah's hand and sat in the offered seat. "Thanks for seeing me."

            "Not at all!" Sarah insisted. "Do you have the papers?"

            "Oh! Yes." Buffy handed her the birth certificate, name changing papers, adoption papers and her own passport. Sarah looked through all of them, checking details with her own records.

            "Well then." She said nodding, and handing everything back. Part of her had been hoping that something would be out of place. She didn't want to tell this girl the truth about her parents. She still remembered the couple perfectly, and could see both of them in their daughter, and she hated to give her such bad news.

            "So… what do you know about my real parents?" Buffy asked. She already knew the answer just by looking in Sarah's eyes. Tears were coming again before Sarah even began.

            "Miss Summers,"

            "Buffy."

            "Buffy. I'm very sorry. Lily and James Potter were lovely people. But they died almost fifteen years ago."

            "Why did they…" Buffy couldn't get the whole sentence out.

            "Why did they give you up? Because they were seventeen years old." 

Buffy's head snapped up- _that_ she had not been expecting. "They were barely more than children themselves, still in school and not even close to ready to care for children of their own. Lily hid the pregnancy from everyone they knew. But they loved you, Buffy, I assure you of that."

Buffy smiled through her tears. They had wanted her. Then she realised something,

            "You said Lily _and_ James Potter."

            "Yes, they married right after they got out of school. I remember I was so surprised when they phoned. Apparently Lily had insisted they told me so that the records would be right if you came looking for them. She really did love you, Buffy… She gave you her name."

            "Yes." Buffy sniffed, and wiped away tears, "Sorry."

            "That's quite alright." Sarah said with a chuckle. "Buffy, there is one more thing."

            "Yes?"

            "They had a son." Sarah said. Buffy bit her lip, the fear returning as she remembered the site. "His name is Harry." Buffy's eyes flew wide. "He is nearly sixteen, and lives with your aunt and uncle."

            "I… I have an aunt? Wow. I never had an aunt or uncle before." Buffy laughed shortly, "I have a brother. Never had one of those before either." But her mind was racing. Harry Potter. Son of Lily and James Potter. _The boy who lived! _ "The guy who killed my parents tried to kill him too." Buffy said suddenly, shocking Sarah.

            "Well yes… but how… I never said they were killed." She said.

            "I know…" Buffy replied, a little dazed. "Who killed them?"

            "I'm sorry Buffy, no one knows. Their deaths were very strange."

            "Strange how?" Buffy asked. If she said anything about trauma to the neck, Buffy was going to kill every vampire in England, _tonight_.

            "Well… they just died." Sarah replied. "I only know what I read, but the newspapers said that their house was trashed, like there had been a fight, and they were lying on the ground in front of the baby's cot, just dead, like their hearts just stopped."

Buffy was starring blankly. Something supernatural had killed her parents and attacked her little brother. The fact that she'd never known them meant nothing. She was the slayer, and whatever it was, was going to die. Painfully.

            "My brother, Harry. Can I contact him?"

            "Of course. Number four Privet drive." She gave a phone number too, "Maybe you should call first."

            "This can't be explained on the phone." Buffy said.

            "I suppose not."

            "Thank you for all your help." Buffy told her as she stood. They shook hands again.

            "That's quite alright. I'm glad I could help. If you need anything else…"

            "Thank you." Buffy smiled, and left, hurrying back to her hotel where she redressed again, more casually, and looked up Privet Drive on the map.

            Several buses later, Buffy was in Privet drive. Her first thought was that this was as far from Sunny Dale as it was possible to get. Every lawn was perfect despite the baking summer heat. Every car was spotless. Every person she saw smiled in a sickly sweet way. Soon Buffy was wondering if someone had put a spell on the neighbourhood- it was way to cheerful to not be evil. The irony of that kept the slayer occupied until she nearly bumped into a very large boy coming out of one of the drives, with three others flanking him. Buffy glanced towards the house. Number 4. She looked the boy over, ignoring his order to get out of his way. _If this is my brother, then a. Ew and b. those girls on the Internet are mad._ Buffy thought, and then… _hey, maybe he ate my brother!_

            "I said get outta my way!" The boy bellowed.

            "Yeah yeah I heard you the first time." Buffy said, irritated- she was still trying to work out if he could possibly be her brother.

            "Come on, Dudley, let's go." One of the others grunted. _Ah ha! Dudley, not Harry!_ Dudley scowled at her for another moment, only causing Buffy to raise her eyebrows, _is he trying to scare me?_ She thought. Then he either got bored or couldn't take her returned stare any longer, and walked around her. Buffy shook her head and chuckled, before composing herself and with great dignity (she wanted to make a good impression) heading for the front door. Looking straight ahead, Buffy didn't see the feet sticking out from behind one of the perfectly pruned bushes. She tripped, and fell less than gracefully to the ground with a yelp. At this, a boy backed out from the bush holding a weeding tool. His black hair was messy beyond belief, his clothes baggy and grass stained, and his glasses askew. He looked shocked.

            "Erm… sorry." He gasped, looking embarrassed. _Now **that** is my brother._ Buffy thought.

----

:D  please review!!


	4. explanations

Firstly, I love you guys sooo much!! Thank you soo much for all the reviews, you've made me a VERY happy person. (just ask Becks!) 

So, as a treat, I have an extra long chapter for you. And I mean _long_. Hope you like it.

Chapter 4 

 _Looking straight ahead, Buffy didn't see the feet sticking out from behind one of the perfectly pruned bushes. She tripped, and fell less than gracefully to the ground with a yelp. At this, a boy backed out from the bush holding a weeding tool. His black hair was messy beyond belief, his clothes baggy and grass stained, and his glasses askew. He looked shocked._

_            "Erm… sorry." He gasped, looking embarrassed. Now **that** is my brother. Buffy thought. _

She grinned, and laughed.

            "That's ok. Didn't see ya there."

            "You're American." He stated obviously.

            "Well duh." Buffy replied, still grinning. She sat up, patting cautiously at her hair. "Tell me the truth." She said, looking upwards as far as she could. The boy cracked a smile, not sure why he was so at ease with this girl so easily. He leant forward, and pulled a piece of grass from her hair.

            "Other than that you're good to go." He said. Buffy breathed an exaggerated sigh of relief.

            "Right then, lets start again." The boy wasn't sure what she meant, but when she stood up, he did too. Buffy backed out of the gate, before walking in again, looking surprised to see him and holding out her hand. "Hi, I'm Buffy Summers and I'm looking for Harry Potter. That you?" He shook her hand, but she felt through that how stiff he had just become. Harry was thinking, _why is she looking for me? No one except wizards know about me, and they would know it was me. Why is she pretending not to know?_

            "Erm, yeah, that's me." He said, deciding to play along. The incredible smile that came to her face shocked him even more. She looked like she'd just won the lottery. Harry frowned.

            "Is there anywhere we can sit?" Buffy asked. "I need to talk to you."

            "Wait." Harry snapped. "Why? Who are you?"

            "Whoa. Paranoid much? I said already, I'm Buffy. Why is a little complicated. But I just wanna talk." But Harry still watched her warily, neither of them moving or saying anything else. Harry was surveying the girl before him. She didn't _look_ like a death eater, but that didn't really mean anything of course- anyone could be a death eater. She didn't seem like she was lying either. She was very pretty. Somehow, he wanted to trust her. He wanted desperately to talk to her- he felt that she was the sort of person he could just talk to. There was something in her green eyes that showed such honest unhappiness at his accusing tone. He realised then that she was holding nothing back from him. If our eyes are truly windows to our souls, then he was starring right into her soul, and he knew he could trust her. It seemed so silly that he hadn't all along. Harry laughed shortly, and sat back down on the grass, motioning for her to join him. 

            "Sorry, I guess I am a bit paranoid. And sorry about the lack of seating… actual seats would involve running the risk of my uncle seeing me not working." 

Buffy raised her eyebrows,

            "He strict?"

            "I think that defines the word 'understatement'." Harry said. Buffy chuckled.

            "So why the paranoia?" She asked.

            "Oh, I thought you might be a death eater." 

            "A what now?" Buffy said frowning. 

            "You don't know what a death eater is?" Harry asked. How could she not? Muggles didn't know about him or weren't interested, and _all_ witches knew of deatheaters.

            "Nope. All I can think is rock band or gang… or something really gross." And Harry knew that was the truth. Well this was strange.

            "So who are you!?" Harry asked again.

            "Ah, yes, the explaining. Yuck. Ok… guess I should start at the beginning. My mom died a couple of weeks ago. My Dad left long ago, so it was left for me to go through my moms stuff." She spoke flatly, not wanting to cry again now. "I found papers- turns out she wasn't my mother. I was adopted, my name changed. The adoption agency was here in London, so I came to find out what I could about my real family. This morning I found out that my real parents are dead too. But about a year before they died 15 years ago, they had a son. A son who would now be almost sixteen. My brother." She looked up at him, meeting his eyes.

            "I don't get what that has to do with me." Harry forced himself to say, although he clearly did.

            "Before my adoptive parents changed my name, my name was Anne Lily Potter, Harry. My real parents were called Lily and James Potter."

            "No." Harry said, shaking his head.

            "The adoption agent told me about their son, Harry Potter. That is why I'm here."

            "Someone would have told me."

            "They hid the pregnancy from everyone. They were only seventeen themselves. Nobody knew, Harry."

            "Dumbledore would have known."

            "I don't know who that is, and if he did, then they woulda probably told him not to tell. I'm not lying Harry." He was just shaking his head in disbelief. So Buffy forced the papers into his hand, and he read, but still said nothing. "I don't want to change anything," Buffy continued, "I don't want anything from you- I just had to meet you, that's all. I didn't mean to freak you out. If you don't want anything to do with me- that's fine. I get it. I guess I'll go now… but if you ever need anything, call me, ok?" Buffy took the papers back, and gave him a slip of paper with her address and number on. "It was good meeting you, Harry." She turned away, and was almost out of the drive when Harry said,

            "Buffy!" So she turned back,

            "Yeh?"

            "Sorry I'm such a paranoid git." He smiled, "You're really my sister, huh?"

            "Yeah. Really am." She replied.

Next thing either of them knew, they were hugging, each of them too happy to have discovered that they weren't really alone to care that they were hugging an essential stranger.

            They sat on the ground again, and Buffy looked sideways at him.

            "So my friend was looking up stuff about my parents on the internet." She began curiously. "There was nothing about them, but Harry Potter seems to take up half the web. This was before I knew I had a brother, by the way." Harry looked shocked, and a little embarrassed. "They all said you were 'the boy who lived' and I'm guessing that means cos of what happened with our parents… but I know there's more to it. Care to explain?"

            "Erm… Well, its one of the reasons I didn't believe you. See, I know this is hard to believe, but magic is real." Buffy didn't even blink; she was waiting for him to continue. Harry starred at her. "As in, magic, witches and wizards."

            "Wizards? Never heard of wizards, I thought male witches were warlocks." Now Harry was even more confused.

            "But… see, our parents were a witch and wizard, so I'm a wizard, and if you're my sister, you should be a witch." 

Buffy cracked up.

            "Me… a witch?" she managed. "No no no."

            "Yes." Harry insisted. "I don't see why you didn't get a letter. You should be a witch. But… if you don't know about death eaters and wizards, how is magic and witches not a shock!?"

            "Oh, my friend is a witch, and magic-y stuff is pretty much my damned job. Or demons and vampires anyway." Buffy said off handly.

            "Ok. Maybe we need to start over." Harry decided. Buffy grinned,

            "That might be good. You first."

            "Ok… when I was eleven, I found out that there is a whole separate community of witches, wizards and mystical creatures that normal people…"

            "Muggles." Buffy interrupted, understanding. Harry frowned at her. "Sorry." She whispered.

            "…_Muggles,_ don't know about. We have our own schools, our own jobs, even our own sorta government. Our own sports, currency, everything."

            "Like another dimension?" Buffy asked.

            "No, right here, along side the normal world, within it. There is one fully wizard town left in England, but there are places muggles just don't see, or can't get into cos they're protected with spells."

            "Whoa. How did I not realise… Oh." Buffy said, her eyes going wide.

            "What?" Harry asked grinning, his sister's expression was very strange.

            "I once went into what I thought was a demon bar, ages ago back in LA. It kinda felt like one, y'know, all mystical energy and evil feeling, but when I got in, there was a loada dudes in dresses and cloaks, and demony guys too, but it was wiggy. Those guys creeped me out so much. They all looked at me, and not just in the 'yum, a snack' way… urgh." Buffy shivered at the thought. Harry raised his eyebrows. He would have thought people thinking 'yum a snack' would be a bad thing… he couldn't wait for Buffy's story.

            "So, yeah," He continued, "it's right here, all around us, and wizarding families use magic for like everything! Mrs Weasley even washes up with magic…"

            "Mrs Weasley?"

            "My friend Ron's mum. Oh the look on all their faces when I introduce you… you have to meet them! Ron, and Hermione, and Ginny, the twins, you'll love them."

            "I'm sure I will." Buffy said, chuckling. "Thing is, from what Giles, my… friend, says, I thought that over using magic was way dangerous."

Harry shrugged, shaking his head.

            "Not that I know of. I don't think I've ever seen Mrs Weasley without her wand."

            "Wand!? She uses a wand?" Buffy exclaimed.

            "Well doesn't everybody?" Harry replied.

            "Well la-di-da Mr know-it-all." Buffy joked, "And for your information, no. Wills has never used a wand."

            "Wills?"

            "My best friend, the witch."

            "She went to witch school?"

            "Nope, she just started fiddling. She's gonna be one kick ass Wicca."

            "Wicca?" Harry repeated. "I think we just found our variable." 

Buffy nodded in agreement. "I don't know the exact difference, but… here, look at my wand." Harry said. He passed it to her from its hiding place in his jeans pocket.

            "Wicked cool." Buffy exclaimed. Harry grinned at her approval.

            "I think you should talk to Dumbledore, he can probably explain stuff better than me."

            "Again with the people I don't know. Dumbledore is?"

            "The headmaster of Hogwarts- my school. It's meant to be the best wizard school in England. Dumbledore is the only wizard that Voldemort is afraid of. For all the good that did…" Harry trailed off, and Buffy saw pain flash within his eyes. She rested a hand on his arm, comfortingly.

            "Voldemort is…"

            "The guy who murdered our parents, yeah." He paused, and hung his head, "Buffy, I'm sorry."

            "What the heck for?"

            "It was my fault. He killed our parents to get to me."

            "That does _not_ make it your fault. You were one!"

            "But…"

            "No, Harry. People die, and it's horrible, and painful, but if you blame yourself it gets a hundred times worse, believe me."

            "You don't understand, Buffy. They died because of me, so did Sirius, so did Cedric…"

            "I don't know what happened, you're right there, but I do know that you would not have purposefully done anything to get those people hurt. Bad guys lay traps, Harry, and anyone, no matter how strong they are, can fall into them. As for our parents? You were a baby, there was nothing you could have done-it was not your fault."

So many people had told Harry the exact same thing. So how come it had such impact coming from Buffy? For the first time since the end of school, Harry felt like a weight had been lifted. He smiled,

            "Thanks." He said. "Now it's your turn."

            "Urgh, yeah. Ok… do you know what a slayer is?"

            "Slayer? I swear I've heard that, or read it… something from defence against the dark arts… oh! Vampire slayer, right? One girl chosen to fight darkness or something like that… anyway, it's a myth, I know that much."

Buffy was grinning.

            "A myth?" She repeated.

            "Yeah." Harry said frowning in confusion. Buffy recited the speech she'd been told many a time,

            "Into every generation, a slayer is born, one girl in all the world, a chosen one, one born with the strength and skill to hunt the vampires, to stop the spread of their evil… it goes on for a bit… bottom line? Not a myth."

            "Buffy, it said it the books…"

            "Trust me, Harry. The slayer is real, I should know." She grinned wider. Harry's face went through several phases of expression, from total confusion to thoughtfulness, to belief, and finally comprehension. Buffy lost sight of his eyebrows as he gasped.

            "Oh my god… You're the slayer?"

            "Took ya long enough." She teased. Harry laughed,

            "Oh Hermione is gonna explode!" He exclaimed.

            "Why?" Buffy asked.

            "She pretty much lives by books. She wont believe this!"

            "She sounds a lot like Willow."

            "Damn… I have a sister, _and_ she's the slayer? Wow. Dumbledore… oh if he knew about this… we so need to talk to Dumbledore…"

            "BOY!" came a bellow from the front of the house.

            "Buffy, meet our uncle." Harry murmured through gritted teeth.

            "What are you doing sitting around?" Asked the huge man who had just walked out of the house. "We've been so lenient with you this summer, you've barely lifted a finger, and we ask you to do one… who the hell are you?" He trailed off, finally noticing Buffy. She beamed at him, and stuck out a hand.

            "I'm Buffy, you must be uncle Vernon." She chirped.

            "What do you want? Why are you talking to _him?_"

            "He does have a name, y'know." Buffy said under her breath, disliking this guy already.

            "What was that? Answer me!" He cried. "Who are you and what are you doing in my drive way? If you're one of his freaks…"

            "Vernon, what's going on?" A thin woman with a strangely long neck asked, following Vernon out. She smiled at Buffy, "Oh, do we have a visitor?" She said sweetly.

            "She was talking to the boy." Vernon spat, as if it were a mortal sin. "Go inside Petunia, I'll handle this." But Aunt Petunia was looking at Buffy, with a slight frown, as if trying to work out where she knew her from. Vernon turned back to Buffy, "I will ask you one more time; who are you?" 

            "I told you!" Buffy snapped angrily, "I'm Buffy Summers."

            "She's my sister." Harry said, just as angry. Vernon went a very odd shade somewhere between crimson and purple, and made spluttering noises. Aunt Petunia gasped, but smiled softly, tears coming to her eyes.

            "Anne." She breathed quietly. 

            "What did you say?" Buffy asked in disbelief.

            "You're Anne. Lily's daughter." Petunia replied.

            "WHAT!?" Cried two voices at once. "You knew _It_**/**I had a sister!?" 

Buffy barely even heard. She was just looking at her aunt, who was coming towards her, reaching out to touch her face.

            "I wondered if I would ever see you." She said.

            "How…?" Buffy gasped.

            "It was one of the few things Lily ever told me. She was so scared, so worried…" Petunia didn't care who was listening. For over eighteen years she had kept this secret, wondering what happened to her only niece; now she had to say what she had been holding in for so long. "At first, all I wanted to do was go straight to my mother- look what perfect little Lily has gone and done now… but she was so distraught, she begged me… I had never seen her like that, not even when we were children… After you were born, she talked to me again. She told me your name, told me how beautiful you were, how beautiful you would become… She was right." 

            "Petunia, will you _please_ explain what is going on this instant!?" Vernon bellowed. Petunia's eyelids fluttered, as if she was coming out of a daze.

            "This is Lily's first born, Vernon. Her name is Anne Lily Potter. She was adopted soon after she was born."

            "And you didn't think to tell me that your hussy of a sister had another spawn running around!?" He cried. Petunia slapped him. It was a very good blow, Buffy noted. Vernon stumbled backwards, looking like the sun had just gone green or something similar. His eyes were wide in shock, his hand pressed against his cheek where a red handprint lay. "Petunia…"

            "Don't, Vernon. I was not very close to my sister. But this meant more to her than anything, and this was what she confided in me. Do _not_ mock that! Do not degrade that! My sister is dead! This is all I have left!"

Harry held his tongue as comments such as 'what about me?' came to his lips. He had never seen Petunia like this; she had certainly never hit uncle Vernon. In fact, Harry didn't think he'd ever seen anyone hit uncle Vernon.

            "If she's _his_ daughter then she's a freak too!" Vernon insisted.

            "She's not a witch." Harry put in, "I mean, she technically could be, but she hasn't grown up with magic."

Petunia turned back to Buffy,

            "Come in dear." She said, her cheeks flushed in anger and shock at her own strength. "Harry- come inside."

She didn't even complain when Harry sat on the sofa with his dirty clothes. Buffy and her brother sat side-by-side, not entirely sure how to handle this situation, or even exactly what the situation was. Petunia bustled around, making tea, while Vernon paced, occasionally shooting a look at the siblings. When Petunia joined them in the sitting room, she put the tray of tea things on the coffee table, and said,

            "There now. Vernon, sit down. Tea, Anne?"

            "Oh, yes please." Buffy replied, wanting to be polite, "But it's Buffy. I go by Buffy now- my adoptive family changed my name to Buffy _Anne_ Summers. Summers was their name."

            "Of course, dear. I'm sorry. So… how did you come to be here, …Buffy?"

            "Well," Buffy glanced at Harry, and he nodded, she should just say it all. So Buffy told her aunt and Uncle about Joyce's death, finding the papers, coming to England, talking to Sarah Meyers, and then the conversation outside, with Harry, just now. Even Vernon could see how much the teenage girl had been through in the last few weeks. Sure he didn't know what she'd faced before that, but even in his rage, his heart gave a tug when she told of realising she had lost two sets of parents.

            "So your fath… Mr Summers…?" Petunia asked shakily.

            "He left years ago. Walked out on me and my mother."

            "No bloody wonder- I mean if they got rid of you, but kept _him_…" Vernon could not help the snide comment when it came. Before Petunia could say a thing, Buffy was out of her seat, towering over her uncle. Due to his sheer size, Buffy wasn't all that much taller than him, even though he was sitting, but he leant backwards at the pure and powerful fury radiating from her.

            "_Never insult me, my family, or my brother **ever** again."_ She said calmly, her voice a deep growl. I believe this is known as _uber-_slayer rage. Vernon trembled under the gaze of the short blonde before him. Harry was thinking- Sirius would have liked her. He would have _really_ like her. Moody too… in fact, most of the order of phoenix would have been impressed. Hell, Snape would be quaking if he were in Vernon's place. Harry made a mental note: never piss Buffy off. Buffy raised one eyebrow, grimacing as if her uncle was something disgusting, and sat back down.

            "Sorry about that." She said politely to Petunia.

            "Not at all dear, not at all." Petunia replied, rather flustered. "What do you intend to do now?"

            "Well, I think I should talk to this Dumblefloor guy…"

            "Dumbledore." Harry corrected with grin.

            "Dumbledore." Buffy repeated. Their aunt and uncle didn't look pleased. Buffy sighed, "Look, I get that you guys don't like magic, but it's part of me, I want to find out about it. And god knows it could be useful for… stuff." She finished quickly. She scolded herself mentally- four years of slaying and you still keep almost blurting it out!?

            "I see that dear- just be careful, some of these wizarding types are…" She glanced at Harry, "Rather unsavoury." 

Buffy smirked,

            "I can deal. Thanks for your concern. Right now though- I'm starving. Harry, you had lunch?" Harry shook his head. "Well how about going to get a bite to eat? If that's ok with you guys, of course?" Buffy said. Vernon looked very relieved.

            "Of course dear- I can give you some money if you want…" Petunia began.

            "That's ok. Thank you." Buffy replied.

            "Harry- you better clean yourself up before you go anywhere." Petunia snapped. Harry nodded, sneaking a grin at Buffy, who returned it. 

            "Buffy, you wanna wait down here?" He asked.

            "Na- I wanna see your room." She said with a wicked grin. As they started up the stairs, she whispered, "Then I can boast to all your adoring fans on the Internet." Harry swatted her arm with his hand, blushing. He let his sister into his room, grimacing as he realised it was in a total mess. "Nice." Buffy said.

            "Yeah, better than the cupboard under the stairs." Harry murmured. Buffy's eyes went wide,

            "The…?" She began in disbelief. He nodded,

            "My bedroom until I was eleven and they got scared that some wizard would come and blow them up for cruelty." Buffy began marching to the door, only stopping when Harry actually pulled her back. "Buffy, don't. Beating on our uncle wont make him any nicer."

            "But he… urgh! I don't know how you can take it! I don't know how aunt Petunia takes it!"

Harry laughed,

            "Most of the time Petunia is right with him- its only cos you're … well, you!"

Buffy chuckled at his logic.

            "Sorry." She conceded. "You don't like it much here, do you?"

            "Have a prize for understatement of the year." Harry exclaimed, throwing a sock at her.

            "Ew!" Buffy cried, laughing. At the same time, she was marvelling at how close she felt to this boy when she had barely known him two hours. "Come on slow coach, I want food!" 

            "Well… turn around or something!" Harry told her. Buffy giggled,

            "Sorry, oops." She turned around to let him change, ending up facing the window. Right then, a huge white owl swooped in and landed on the top of a large cage. "Sh*t!" Buffy cried, leaping backwards. Harry laughed, and finished changing quickly, going over and holding out his arm. The owl stepped onto it, cooing loudly. Harry untied the letter that was attached to it's leg. "What the hell?" Buffy asked.

 Harry grinned,

            "Owl post."

            "Huh?"

            "We use owls to send letters- way faster than normal post. This is Hedwig."

            "You have a pet owl." Buffy said dazedly. "See- you didn't tell me about this."

            "Sorry. But hey, you haven't told me much about slaying!"

            "Whatever- what's the letter?" She said. Harry unrolled it, and smiled.

            "It's from Ron- my friend. He says that his brothers are doing really well- that's the twins, Fred and George, I think you'd like them, they're your age. They've set up a joke shop. Ginny is… oh my god." He chuckled. "Ginny is his younger sister, and she's dating a guy in our year- Ron freaked, and apparently still is freaking. Percy is still being a dick… blah, blah… damn, Dumbledore says I can't go there, not yet anyway."

            "You usually go stay with Ron?"

            "Yeh, soon as I can. But with everything that's been happening, Dumbledore's being over protective."

            "Ok- that sounds like there is way more you need to tell me. But we can do that over lunch- I need to eat or I'm gonna implode!!"

            "Ok, ok!" Harry said. He grabbed a jumper, and they headed out.

----

:D hope you like it. Review please, and I'll be even happier and update again! Lol, no of course I'm not bribing you….


	5. Tales and tall beardy blokes

Heya people!! You guys totally rock!! You understand how hyper I've been about all these reviews? Just ask Becks, I swear I've never grinned so much in my life, you guys have broken my review record by a loooong way! :D 

Judith- erm, I don't know what you've gotten this confused with, but I'm pretty certain Buffy never said Bloody Marvelous…  I did a search through to check, cos I agree its very unbuffy. But I'm positive I didn't write it!

SO here we go, another chapter which I hope you'll like. Thanx again for all your support, glad you liked stronger Petunia! I just had to give Vernon a slap!! And I think buffy is a tiny bit more controlled than that. (notice I say _tiny!_) Anyway, I'm babbling again. Read. Enjoy. Review!!

Chapter 5 

            About half an hour later they were in a small café not all that far away. They'd ordered food, and Harry was telling Buffy about his various encounters with Voldemort in hushed tones. He told her about Quirrel in his first year, about Riddle and the chamber of secrets, and how they'd found out about wormtail, and he'd escaped. He went through the triwizard tournament, getting a little sidetracked on the dragons… which lead to quidditch… and eventually he got on to watching Voldemort rise. When he said that wormtail cut him, Buffy's reaction was similar to Sirius's. She stiffened, and glanced at his arm even though it was over a year ago. She looked as if she was ready to go find Voldemort right now, and squash him, just because he'd hurt her brother. Eventually Harry reached the tale of the department of mysteries, and his voice cracked as he told her about Sirius. Buffy reached across, squeezing his hand.

            "Oh god, Harry, I'm sorry." She gasped. He shook his head, he was dealing. Buffy forced a smile, "I get why Dumbledore is being protective though." She said.

            "Yeah. So do I, but its still irritating. I just wish there was somewhere else I could go, other than the damned Dursleys'!"

            "Well… I mean, I know it's a long way away…and we've like, only just met…" Buffy said hesitantly, "But, y'know, if you wanted…." Harry looked at her in anticipation. "Well, you could come stay with me." 

Harry grinned widely.

            "That would be incredible! … but Dumbledore said the spells only work if I'm living with family, that's why I had to be with the Dur… Holy crap!" He exclaimed as Buffy smiled broadly. " You're my sister. I can… we soo have to talk to Dumbledore!" 

            Harry owled the headmaster as soon as they got back to the house. Buffy then told him she would have to go back to her hotel- she had to phone home and stuff like that. He didn't seem very happy, but she promised they would do something tomorrow. She made Harry promise not to tell Dumbledore the whole truth until she was there, and they agreed that Harry would bring Dumbledore to her hotel if he consented to come- They were both certain that the Dursleys' wouldn't like him in the house.

Back at the hotel, Buffy phoned Giles back in SunnyDale.

            "Buffy!" He exclaimed, "I was getting worried!"

            "Sorry." She said, "I was too tired when I got here last night, and this morning I just wanted to get things done y'know?"

            "Yes." Giles replied more calmly. "So? Did you talk to her?"

            "Yep." Buffy said simply. Giles wasn't sure of her emotions through her voice.

            "And?"

            "And my parents gave me up because they were seventeen- still in school."

            "Oh Buffy…"

            "She said they were so upset- my mom loved me Giles." Now he knew she was verging on tears. "Oh god… they died fifteen years ago, Giles. They were murdered."

            "Dear lord…Buffy…" He didn't know what to say.

            "But." Buffy said, her voice stronger, "Their son survived."

            "Their son?"

            "Yup. I got a brother, Giles. His name is Harry." She choked a short laugh, and listened for the shocked sound. She wasn't disappointed.

            "Harry…" He gasped.

            "Yup. Harry Potter."

            "As in…?"

            "As in on the website." Buffy confirmed, almost laughing again.

            "But…"

            "I know, I know, wiggy. It gets wiggier, Giles. He's a wizard. My dad was a wizard, my mom was a witch. They were killed by an evil wizard."

            "Wizards?"

            "Yup- apparently there's this whole separate community of witches, wizards, and…"

            "Oh! _That _kind of wizard! How intriguing…"

Buffy rolled her eyes. How did she know this was going to happen?

            "You know about the whole separate community of wizards?" She stated.

            "Well, yes. The council has little contact with the ministry of magic- I know very little, but, gosh… your parents were a witch and wizard? Buffy, that means you could be!"

            "Yeah, I know. Giles, why do you never think it's necessary to tell me stuff like this?"

            "I… I don't know." He replied. Buffy chuckled.

            "Don't worry, Giles. Hopefully I'll meet Dumbledore in the next few days. I'm hoping he can explain why I was never called to a wizard school."

            "Buffy… that's one of the few things I do know of the subject."

            "Really? Well then why?"

            "Because slayers never are." He said cautiously, knowing this was going to infuriate the slayer. "Potential slayers are never taken into wizarding schools- they never have been. A slayer must not rely on magic to protect herself, or magical healing methods. She must be able to function, and slay with no more than herself if needs be. Magical tuition ha always been considered to obstruct the slayers training. They have different priorities from normal people."

Buffy was silent. God she hated the council. How could they do this? They act as if slayers are their weapons to wield as they wish.

            "What about slayers born to wizarding families?" She asked.

            "They are removed to council facilities." Giles said with a wince. He could hear Buffy grinding her teeth.

            "But… how do they know? You told me that the council didn't find me until I was called, so how did they know not to send me my letter?"

            "That's not how it works… because it's always been this way, when wizards search for young witches and wizards, slayers just don't register. They are slightly different- they just don't show up. I don't know exactly how it works Buffy- I'm not entirely sure anyone does. But the council is very severe about slayers trying to learn that type of magic. Wicca too, to a certain extent."

            "Well I don't work for the council anymore, do I?" Buffy said coldly.

            "I know, and I agree with you, they handle it all wrong… so did you meet your brother?"

            "That's how I found out about all this." Giles heard her tone soften immediately. "He's great Giles, but he's been through so much… the wizarding world seems as hazardous as the slaying world… I should go. This call is gonna cost a bucketful. Don't tell the others about all this, ok? Just say I'll explain when I get back, alright?"

            "Of course, if that's what you want."

            "Giles… I don't know if I can yet, but what do you think about Harry coming back with me?"

            "Back here!?" Giles exclaimed, "Buffy, you barely know him…"

            "I feel like I've always known him, Giles, and he hates it here with our uncle and aunt. If Dumbledore says it's ok, I'm…" 

            "Dumbledore? You said that before, who is Dumbledore?"

            "Harry's principal, or headmaster, whatever. He's meant to be a way powerful wizard.

            "Oh. Look, Buffy, it will still be a great responsibility."

            "I can handle it, Giles. He's nearly sixteen, its not as if he's a kid." She paused. "Giles, he's in danger. I still don't know how much, but the guy who killed our parents failed to kill him, and you know what they say!"

            "If at first you don't succeed." Giles murmured, realising what Buffy meant.

            "At least four times since he was eleven, Giles." Buffy said. "He's my brother. I have to protect him."

            "Yes. I understand completely." Giles agreed.

            "I'll see you soon, Giles. Remember, don't tell them anything, ok?"

            "Ok. Be careful Buffy. Just call if there is anything you need."

            "Thanks, Giles. Bye."

            "Goodbye."

Buffy hung up the phone, and leant back against the headboard of her bed, sighing. She'd thought her life was odd before, huh?

            That evening, Buffy sat alone in her hotel room, just thinking over all that she had learned recently. It still seemed like a dream. She was shocked out of her stupor when she heard tapping on the window. She frowned, and crossed the room, smiling when she recognised the snowy owl.

            "Hedwig, what are you doing here?" She wondered aloud, letting the bird in. She flew through the window and settle on the back of a chair beside the small table. Tied to her leg was a rolled up piece of parchment paper. Buffy took it from her, and read,

Hey Buffy,

            He's coming tomorrow! Dumbledore just wrote back- I can't believe it was so quick! I'll bring him to your hotel tomorrow morning. Eleven ok? I gotta warn you he seemed suspicious, probably something to do with you stopping me telling him who you are!! Anyway, he wants to meet you. So see you tomorrow? Send Hedwig back with an answer, ok? I can't wait to see Dumbledore's face- even he will have to be surprised at this! Unless he already knew, in which case I'm going to throttle him. Damn, uncle Vernon is shouting- he's been getting payback for you scaring him, but Dudley's reaction to hearing about you is well worth it!! Did you really bump into him outside? He's terrified of you now! Aunt Petunia has told him so many times that you're 'such a sweet girl', but Uncle Vernon keeps whispering that you're an horrid witch… Dudley is totally freaking! It's brilliant!! I better go. See you tomorrow.

Love Harry.

Buffy smiled, rereading the letter over several times. She had only met Harry his morning, and already she loved him. She scribbled a reply, saying that eleven was fine and that Harry should tell Dudley that she was a slayer. He wouldn't understand what it meant, but his reaction to the word alone should be amusing. She signed it 'Love your sister, Buffy.' And tied it to Hedwig's leg. The owl gave her an affectionate peck when she gave her a scrap of dinner the slayer had left, before flying back out of the window to her master back in Privet drive.

            The next morning, Buffy was too excited and nervous to stay in bed, and was up and ready for Dumbledore by nine. So she went for a run again, and by the time she'd returned, showered and changed, it was ten to eleven- much better. At eleven on the dot, she heard a knock on the door, and grinned, totally positive that this was Dumbledore's timing, not Harry's, if her brother was anything at all like her. Buffy took a deep breath, and opened the door. Harry stood there, smiling widely. Beside him stood a tall man who could, whether you knew they existed or not, be nothing other than a wizard. He had long white hair and a beard to match; he wore half moon spectacles and a long, midnight blue robe covered in tiny stars. Buffy had laughed when Harry told her wizards and witches wore robes, but this was nothing short of awe inspiring.

            Buffy stood back, motioning them in without a word. She closed the door behind them, and turned to face Dumbledore. He had an odd smile on his face, a sort of confused anticipation, and the gaze that Buffy met gave her the impression that Dumbledore saw much more in people than the average person would.

            "You gotta be Dumbledore." Buffy said eventually, holding out her hand.

            "Yes. I am Albus Dumbledore. You must be Buffy Summers."

            "That's me." They shook hands, and Dumbledore cast a questioning glance at Harry in feeling the strength in the slight girl's hand.

            "Harry simply told me that I had to meet you- that we had much to discuss." Dumbledore prompted. Buffy smiled again,

            "Yeah." She looked at Harry, "You wanna do it?" She asked.

            "I think you can explain it better than me." He replied. Buffy mock-frowned at him, and took another deep breath. She offered Dumbledore the one chair, while she and Harry settled on the edge of the bed.

            "Ok… where to start…" She wondered. "I guess… Do you know what a slayer is?" Buffy asked Dumbledore. He nodded, his eyes widening slightly.

            "Ah, yes, that would explain the strength I feel in you." He said. Buffy scowled, 

            "Hey! Ruining the dramatic suspense here!" She exclaimed. Dumbledore chuckled.

            "I am sorry, do continue." 

Buffy pouted thoughtfully,

            "Well, you mucked up that bit… so you know slayers aren't a myth then?" Dumbledore nodded. "Ok then… well, I've been the slayer for about four years now, but one of the few things I found I couldn't fight, Cancer, killed my mother a couple of weeks ago." Dumbledore looked sympathetic, but the change in expression was only very slight. Buffy continued- "My father left us years ago, so it was left to me to go through my mother's things. I didn't get very far before I found these papers." She picked them up, waving them a little, but did not hand them to Dumbledore. "I found out that I was adopted- the woman I lost was _not_ my mother. I also discovered that Buffy Summers is not my original name, and I was born in England. I came over here the day before yesterday, and yesterday I spoke to the woman who handled my adoption. Turns out my parents were only seventeen at the time, and still in school. They had hidden the pregnancy from everyone." Dumbledore just looked blank, as if this was all very well, but he did not see what this had to do with him, or Harry for that matter. So Buffy, with one glance at Harry, finished her story. "I found out that my parents had had a son too, just one year before they died. They were killed fifteen years ago. My real name is Anne Lily Potter. My parents were called James Potter and Lily Evans." 

Harry had never seen the headmaster so shocked. Of course, to the untrained eye, he would look un-phased, but Harry knew him better. Buffy handed Dumbledore the papers, which he looked over thoroughly.

            "Sherbet Lemons." He exclaimed finally. Harry grinned, supposing this was the closest he would ever hear to Dumbledore swearing- he knew now that Dumbledore really had not known. Buffy just smiled nervously. Dumbledore looked up, studying the slayer's face intently. Eventually, he smiled softly. "Yes… yes, I see Lily in you…" Now Harry was shocked- the headmaster looked close to tears, but was smiling never the less. "How did I not know…?" Dumbledore wondered aloud. 

            "They hid it from everyone." Buffy replied with a shrug, "I guess they used spells."

            "Harry explained the wizarding world to you?" Dumbledore asked, knowing he would have. Buffy nodded,

            "Yeah, he told me a lot. He figured there might be some things that you could explain better."

            "Of course. Just ask me anything you need to know. As long as in return, I may hear of your exploits as the slayer." Dumbledore said.

            "Deal."

----

U like? Hope so. I'm not sure how long it's gonna take to get to Hogwarts. Lots planned before then, so we'll just have to see!


	6. A very cool coathanger

New chapter for all you wonderful people! You guys rock so much!! Since you lot have made me so happy, I'm gonna answer your questions individually, which I don't do all that often! 

-Slayerq- Don't worry, Captain Lilac is not gonna make an appearance, unless I think up some interesting way for him to get beat up _real_ bad. I hated Riley, so don't worry.

-Wild320(and Slayerq)- I don't know who Buffy _is_ gonna get with. Any ideas would be welcome! Oh… just got an idea. ***grins***

-Zombiegurl98- I have some ideas concerning Sirius… I'm not saying anything for sure, but I could fiddle that whole death dealio.

-Kyra2- Yah, baking summer heat. It was a hot day! We do get those now an then! Sometimes…

-AndrianaMonstakakis- Buffy teaching… I don't think so, sorry. Maybe, I guess, I haven't got there yet, but I think its unlikely.

-c.s- the next chapter will be posted…. Now! J

Lastly, I must give a big shout out to my friend The Almighty Apple ;) , cos the Dumbledore line you guys liked so much was her idea! 

And of course im gonna say hi to Becks89 cos her stories rock (plus she moans if I don't mention her ;) )

On with the story!!

Chapter 6 

They talked for hours about anything the three could think of, each learning much that they had not known before. Harry found the idea of different dimensions intriguing. Dumbledore was just fascinated about all things slayer- of course he had heard of them, but with such limited contact between the watchers council and the ministry of magic, he knew very little. The girl before him was clearly more powerful than many of the great aurors, and she had never used a wand in her life. As soon as she told him of how she had quit the council, Dumbledore brightened even more, telling her that she must get a wand and at least try to learn some magic. Buffy agreed enthusiastically.

            After several hours, they approached the subject Harry was most eager to discuss. Buffy was telling Dumbledore about Petunia's reaction to her, and how their aunt had defended her family from Vernon's ridicule. Buffy looked at Harry, with no attempt to hide from Dumbledore that they were about to propose something big.

            "Professor," She began, "Harry told me that the charms you placed on him only work while he lives in a home where his mother's blood dwells, right?" Dumbledore merely nodded. "Well, I think you know that Harry hates living with our aunt and uncle- I've known him a day and I know it. So… what if Harry came back with me to SunnyDale?"

Dumbledore had been waiting for it.

            "Miss Summers, the charms are more complicated than that…" He started.

            "Well can't they be altered?" Harry butted in. Dumbledore smiled,

            "Yes, they can be altered. But Harry, you must understand that the Hellmouth in SunnyDale interferes greatly with our type of magic…"

            "I'm not allowed to use magic out of school anyway!" The teenager retorted.

            "Yes yes." Dumbledore agreed, "But if something were to happen, you might not be able to defend yourself…"

            "He wouldn't need to." Buffy said firmly. "Dumbledore, I get that there would be complications, but Harry is my brother. I am not gonna leave him with Vernon Dursley to be used as a verbal punch-bag for the next couple of months, and I'm pretty sure Vernon wont be too happy with me staying for the holidays, so if it is in any way physically possible, and he wants to ["I do!" Harry interjected], Harry is coming with me."

It was exactly what Dumbledore needed to hear. Buffy had just proved that she cared greatly for her brother. She had just proved that she would protect him no matter what. Coupled with all his charms, Dumbledore could not think of a safer place for Harry to spend the summer, Hellmouth or no. He smiled the knowing smile that Harry had seen all too many times.

            "I shall see to altering the charms- when do you plan to leave?" Dumbledore said.

            "I have a flight booked tomorrow night." Buffy replied. Dumbledore nodded,

            "I can have it sorted by then, but you may wish to travel in the wizarding manner- it will be faster, and avoid… complications… with customs- I doubt they get many cauldrons or owls on a regular basis."

Buffy grinned, and nodded,

            "Cool."

Harry couldn't believe his ears. He was leaving. Just like that. No more Dursleys. He had real family. He was going to America to live with his sister for the holidays- he was free.

            "Harry- did you not plan to visit the Weasleys this summer?" Dumbledore asked.

            "Oh- yeah, I did… they don't know about any of this…"

            "Well, I'm sure arrangements can be made at a later date. I shall see to the necessary changes, and meet you at the Dursleys'… tomorrow lunch time?"

            "Sounds good." Buffy said. She and Harry walked to the door with Dumbledore, and the slayer shook his hand again. "Good to meet you professor." She told him.

            "And you- it was an honour." He replied.

Once Dumbledore was gone, Buffy looked at her watch. It was coming up on four o'clock.

            "Geez!" Buffy exclaimed, "How the hell did we not notice we missed lunch!?" Harry cracked up,

            "Do you actually think with your stomach?" He asked. 

            "No!" Buffy cried indignantly. "But I haven't eaten since about eight this morning- what d'ya say we go grab a bite somewhere?"

            "Definitely." Harry agreed.

            The next day, Harry and Buffy stood together in the Dursleys' living room with all of their luggage. Petunia fussed over Buffy, not too happy about her travelling by wizard ways. Dumbledore was due any minute, so Vernon was just quietly steaming in a corner. When Petunia was checking for the fourth time that Buffy had the sandwiches she'd made (Buffy were a huge pile of Ham, cucumber and mayonnaise ones, while Harry's were two piece of bread spread with butter.) Dudley walked in, declaring he was ready for lunch. On seeing Buffy, he stopped dead, and paled considerably.

            "Is that…?" he mumbled. Petunia nodded, smiling,

            "Yes, dear, come and meet your cousin." She said. Instead, Dudley went green, and skirting round the edge of the room, ran upstairs. Buffy and Harry exchanged an amused glance, but held back the laughter. "Hm." Said Aunt Petunia, slightly bemused. 

Just then, a loud 'POP!' announced Dumbledore's arrival.

            "Ah- Mr Dursley, how nice to meet you at last." Dumbledore said, holding out a hand. Vernon mumbled incoherently and squashed himself further into the corner. Petunia swallowed nervously. "Petunia." Dumbledore continued, giving up on Vernon.

            "Professor Dumbledore." She greeted him, nodding, but looking utterly terrified. Then he turned to the siblings, 

            "Harry. Buffy."

            "Hi." Buffy said excitedly.

            "Hello." Harry said.

            "Are you ready? Got everything?" Dumbledore asked. They nodded, checking their bags and Harry's trunk were all accounted for. "Alright then. Remember that it shall be about four o'clock in the morning in SunnyDale, and hold on tight-Harry, I know you've travelled this way before." Dumbledore handed the boy a coathanger. Buffy raised her eyebrows, causing Harry to laugh.

            "It's a portkey." He explained. "At a certain time it will transport us to the right place."

            "Cool." She said.

            "I have informed the order of the situation, Harry, in that you are going to America to stay with the slayer." Dumbledore said with a slight grin, "But I have left it to you to explain the rest."  

Harry smiled, and nodded. Then he told Buffy to make sure she had a grip on all her things, checked he was touching all of his, and held the coat hanger out to her.

            "Here goes nothin'." Buffy said. Dumbledore glanced at his pocket watch, Petunia called,

            "Take care!"

Buffy nodded back,

And suddenly she felt as if she had been caught by a hook behind her navel, and the room became a blur.

            The Potter Siblings reappeared on a street corner in the darkness of SunnyDale, California. 

            "Wicked cool!" Buffy exclaimed, as she sat down hard on the pavement. Harry chuckled, looking down at her. "Erm… Harry, could you ask the street to stop spinning please?" She said. He laughed again, and she scowled at him. "Meanie." She murmured. So he laughed harder. Buffy shook her head, and stuck a finger through the bars of Hedwig's cage to scratch her and calm the alarmed bird,

            "She's never travelled that way before." Harry told his sister.

            "Poor thing- I'm shaken enough, She must be terrified." 

Harry nodded, and opened the cage door to let her out.

            "She'll be ok." He said. Hedwig hopped up to his shoulder, and Buffy stood up-or rather tried, it took her a couple of goes to actually stand straight.

            "Home's this way." Buffy told Harry. They picked up their bags and headed down the road. "No one will be there. Will was staying with me before, but she's probably gone home. So we can get you settled in before we go give my friends the shock of a life time." She said it with all too much glee. 

            They reached the house, and Buffy dropped her bags in order to search for the key. She opened the door, and they dragged everything in. Buffy told Harry to leave unpacking for now- she wanted to show him round first. She switched on the downstairs light, and showed Harry the kitchen, dining room and living room, watching closely for his reaction. Harry grinned widely- the house was brilliantly messy. Not a tip, but just comfortable- not a word he could ever have associated with the Dursley's. Then Buffy led her brother upstairs. Used to the dark from slaying, Buffy neglected to turn on the light.

            "Bathroom." She told him. "My room." She briefly showed him, flicking on the light briefly. "And… this'll be your room." They stepped into the next room, and as Buffy entered, she was hit hard by a flying figure. Harry was grabbed from behind, and Buffy ended up on the ground beneath her attacker.

----

Dum dum dum!!

Who was lying in wait for Buffy… or Harry? :D I love to be evil. Review please!


	7. Harry Potter

Yey, another chapter! Thanx again for all your reviews!! Its incredible!  I really hope none of the people who threatened to went mad or died from suspense… if ya did… erm…please don't sue?

Brin Summers- Don't worry, no offense taken, I laughed out loud actually, luved it.

c.s- he he, NOW!

Slayerq- apparently we have similar buffy/guy tastes. Don't worry, no Xander/Buffy ness. Ick…

Chancing Faith- erm, congrats for all the e's and I's… I think…

ShootingStar19 (Aneeka, yeah, I got that that was ur screen name!)- HA!! End of term, no more bugging me at skool!! HA!! J

Becks89- OH MI GOD!! U didn't review!! Meanie. L

Anyway, u guys (cept Becka!) rule soo much!! I cant believe how many review u give me!!! I feel honoured. Thanx. So heres another chapter for ya, but its not as long as the last!!

Enjoy!

Chapter 7 

As the light was turned on by the second person, Buffy gasped, then laughed. On top of her was Willow, holding a stake, and looking petrified.

            "Buffy! It's Buffy!" She cried. Oz, holding Harry, was a little shorter than the boy, and couldn't see past him.

            "Doesn't look like Buffy." He said simply, looking at the back of Harry's head. Buffy stuck her head out to the side as Oz spun himself round.

            "Hi." Buffy said.

            "Oh. Hey Buffy." He replied. Buffy looked up at Willow, who still held the stake up.

            "Er, Will? You do remember that vamps can't come in without invite, right?"

Willow looked at the stake, and frowned.

            "Oh yeah."

            "And Will? Could ya get off me, maybe?"

            "OH! Oh, sorry." She leapt up, and Buffy turned to Oz as she stood.

            "Oz- let him go." He did as he was told, and resumed his usual impassive expression.

            "Buffy, what are you doing back? I thought you were coming later today? And who the heck is he?" Willow asked. Buffy grinned,

            "Yeah… I got alternate transportation. And that… that is Harry Potter."

[insert dramatic music! *grins*]

            Willow gaped at her.

            "Harry Potter?" She repeated. 

            "Yup." Buffy said, still grinning widely.

            "As in, from that site?"

            "Yup."

            "As in, 'the boy who lived'?"

            "…Son of Lily and James Potter. Yeh. The site was real." Buffy told her. Willow spluttered a little, looking from one sibling to the other.

            "Then he's your…?"

            "He's my little brother." Buffy confirmed.

            "Not _that_ little." Harry murmured. 

            "I missed something, didn't I?" Oz said. Buffy chuckled. Willow glanced at him, but her jaw was still hanging open.

            "He… but… wizards…. Said I wasn't a witch!" Willow managed.

            "Different type of magic, Will… look, can we explain this later? When Xand is here? Easier just to say it once." Buffy pleaded. Willow nodded, and pointed to the bed she'd been sleeping in since Joyce's death.

            "I… sleep…" She said dazedly. Buffy nodded, and lead Harry out of the room.

            "So that was Willow then?" Harry asked, smirking.

            "Yeah- usually a little bit more literate than that." Buffy said with a short laugh.

            "And Oz… he's the werewolf, right?"

            "Yup… erm… you can either have that room when they go home, or you can have this one…" Buffy opened another room, that was currently filled with boxes. "We'd have to decorate…But that could be fun…" She sounded genuine, so Harry nodded,

            "Ok. I don't wanna push your friends out…"

            "Yeah… this room is a little bigger anyway, I think." She said, "And it can be our little project." She smiled. Harry nodded. "I guess you can sleep in my room til then… I'll take the sofa…"

            "No. That's your room. I'll take the sofa." Harry insisted. "But I'm not tired now anyway."

            "Me neither." Buffy agreed. She screwed up her face, trying to think of what to do. Usually she would have gone on patrol, but with Harry she wasn't so sure. 

            Harry studied his sister's face. He could tell she was trying to figure out what to do, but was holding an idea back for his sake. He went though the possibilities in his head, and came across the obvious.      

            "You wanna go patrolling?" He asked. She was shocked,

            "Na… I mean, you'd be bored, and it's kinda dangerous…" She trailed off at his withering look. "I'm meant to be protecting you!" She argued.

            "So give me a weapon." He said with a sweet smile.

            "You are a _bad_ person." Buffy said. She lead him downstairs, and headed for the weapons trunk. She grinned wickedly when she turned her back to him. She opened the trunk, surveying the weapons inside. Suddenly, she grabbed a stake and threw it to Harry, calling his name while ensuring the stake would be point outwards if it hit him. 

            Harry's Quidditch senses kicked in at the moment's notice, and his hand moved without conscious direction. He caught the stake, and grinned at Buffy's shocked expression.

            "Can I come now?" He asked. She gave him a half grin,

            "I guess if you're gonna get yourself attacked by Mouldymort, I'd better train you to protect yourself when you can't use magic."

            "Yeh, of course!" Harry agreed. Buffy chuckled, shaking her head, and picked out her favourite axe, spinning it expertly. Harry gulped.

            "Well come on then." Buffy said as she headed for the door. Harry stared at the axe, then looked down at his little stake. 

            "Great." He murmured, "Fun."

            "That was incredible!" Harry cried as the pair walked towards home in the slowly rising dawn. Buffy chuckled, how many times had he said that now? "With the… and then when you… amazing." Harry was excitedly re-enacting Buffy's last fight as he spoke.

            "Cool it, Harry." Buffy said. He grinned,

            "Sorry. That was just so cool. Can I come patrolling more often?"

            "No."

            "But Buffy! That was so amazing!! That guy nearly bit me, and then…"

            "Don't you see the badness in that sentence?" Buffy asked

            "Yeah… But you were there, and I can learn, and…"

            "Not yet. I can teach you some stuff, and then maybe, but not right away, its too dangerous! And besides, by tonight you're gonna be knackered. All you'll want to do tonight is sleep."

            "Aww!" Harry groaned. Buffy laughed again, here comes the grumpy teenager.

            "In a couple of hours you'll meet Xander, and Giles, and Will and Oz properly." She told him grinning and changing the subject, "I'm trying to think of what new word Xander will create to express his shock…"

Harry smiled- he'd heard so much about all these people, and just couldn't wait to meet them.

            "So do they know _anything_ about me?"

            "Nope. Nadda. Cept what we read on that site, of course, but we didn't know it was real. So no… I mean, Giles knows a bit, y'know the basics, but not all the Voldemort stuff."

            "That should be fun to tell." Harry said blandly. 

            "Don't worry, I'll be there- I'll tell it if ya want."

            "No. I'll be ok." Harry said, putting on an over enthusiastic brave face. Buffy grinned, and wrapped an arm fondly around her brother.

            "So what's going on?" Xander asked. Most of the scoobies were gathered in Giles' apartment, and as Willow and Oz had been forbidden to say a thing until Buffy arrived with Harry, Xander was getting very confused. "Guys!" he cried at Willow's excited grin.

            "Just wait." She scolded, still grinning. Giles smiled wryly at the teenager, eager to finally meet Harry and hear the rest of his story. The door opened, and they all turned to see Buffy enter with a dark haired boy in baggy clothes, who was taller than Buffy, but clearly younger.

            "Hey Guys!" Buffy said, hugging Xander.

            "They wont tell me what's goin' on." Xander whined, sticking out his lower lip. Buffy chuckled,

            "Well- Guys, I want you to meet… properly…" She glanced at Will and Oz, "With no attempts on his life… Harry Potter." Xander starred, his brow wrinkling in thought

            "Harry Potter…." He repeated, "Hey, Buff, isn't that who those internet people said was your…" His eyes flew wide.

            "My Brother." Buffy finished in confirmation.

            "Holy Mother of Macaroni and cheese." Xander exclaimed. Harry cracked a wide grin- he thought Buffy had been joking.

            "It's great to meet you… y'know, with no attacking involved, cos I don't usually attack people, but we were surprised, and then Buffy was like Hi, and we were like, what? And you were like, huh? And it was all very confusing." Willow gabbled, shaking Harry's hand. Oz smiled softly, and raised his hand in greeting,

            "Hey." He said. Giles now stepped forwards, as Xander was still doing a fish impression and pointing from Buffy to Harry. 

            "Wonderful to finally meet you." Giles said, shaking Harry's hand. "I would be grateful if you could tell me about the wizarding world- it sounds fascinating!"

            "Er, yeah, ok." Harry managed. He looked nervously at Buffy, who was just grinning at Xander.

            "Not telling me that was evil. You sure your not a vampire again?" He said to Willow.

            "Again?" Harry repeated.

            "Yeah, whole thing with different dimensions and evil gay skanky-ho-vampire twins." Xander told him off handly. _Right_ Harry mouthed.

            "I'll tell you later." Buffy promised, "So you probably got it, but this is Xander, and Giles, and you already met Will and Oz."

            "Yeah- Hi." Harry said, feeling a bit like a zoo exhibit.

            "So you're a wizard?" Willow asked eagerly when no one else said anything.

            "HUH!?" Xander cried. Buffy rolled her eyes,

            "Should we start at the beginning?" She asked Harry. He nodded, and they took their places on the couch, and launched into the story of their parents, Voldemort, and the boy who lived.

-----

Hope u liked it. Reviews please, u know how I luv 'em!!


	8. Owls

I love holidays!!  So much time for writing… and, er, doing homework, of course… I would never write fanfics instead of doing homework… *sheepish grins*

OH WELL, screw homework, I love you guys!! I can't believe how cool you've been with the billions of reviews!! Again I feel I should answer questions, so here:

c.s- thanx for waiting a few days ;) and yes, duh, now.

Kyra2- sorry, yeah, I guess literate was the wrong word… but then again it is Buffy!

Genesis- I have to admit I don't remember Xander making a book burst into flames, but even if he did, that doesn't make him a wizard. That book woulda been wicca-style magic, which is very different, as I said earlier in the fic. Sorry, but Xander wont be a wizard.

Thanx again to all u wonderful reviewers, u really make me feel happy… *tears up* Thank you!!

Shout out to Beck89 of course- if ya haven't gotten the hit yet, she rocks. 

OH!! Oh, I have to say something!! For all those non-english people out there, hu keep talking about 'terms' in stories, I just need to make it clear that a school term is NOT the same as a school year!! There are three terms in a year- Autumn term up to Christmas holidays, Spring term up to easter holidays and Summer term up til summer holdidays!! I think in America they're known as Summesters(? Not entirely sure, so I understand ur confusion) But I just had to say that, cos it's a little annoying. 

There we go, now on with the story!!

Chapter 8

            Later that day at the Summers' (or should I say Potter's) house, after Willow and Oz had left with their stuff, (they insisted on'getting out of the way') Buffy helped Harry to settle into the room they'd been staying in- her m… Joyce's old room. Buffy had to make the correction in her mind every time she thought it. But as much as she tried, Buffy knew that she would never stop thinking of Joyce as her mother. The siblings had decided that Harry would stay in that room while they did up the other room for him. Harry was already certain that he would like it here with his sister and her friends. 

In the evening, Buffy and Harry sat on the sofa downstairs with mugs of hot chocolate, despite the fact that it was a hot and humid night. They chatted for hours, telling each other even more stories about their adventures, the best times and the worst times. But despite all this, despite everything Harry told Buffy about Sirius, about his awful childhood, about his terrifying encounters with Voldemort… Buffy still managed to avoid mentioning details of either Angel or Faith. She told him the basics of the Angel deal, he was a friend, he went evil, got his soul back, went away for a while, came back, left again. And she told him that there was another slayer called Faith, but no more. She told him everything else, but those were two subjects that just hurt to much to bare. At least Joyce's death Harry could understand- he too had lost a mother. But the pain she felt within for her lost lover and her lost friend choked her whenever she even tried to tell her brother about them. 

            Harry knew she held something back, and though it hurt him that she felt there were things she couldn't tell him, deep down he understood. Many of the things she had said shocked him, and formed a lump in his throat as he wondered how she could have survived such times. So anything that hurt her so much she couldn't even speak of them must be major. He knew that some time she would tell him. It didn't matter when. He laughed at himself, knowing how corny it sounded even in thought, but he was happy just to be here, with Buffy. The rest didn't matter.

            The next day, much to Buffy's shock and Harry's amusement, the siblings were flooded with owls. The first came when they were eating breakfast. The huge barn owl flew straight through the open window and landed on Buffy's head. She screamed and jumped about a bit, producing large amounts of squawking and flapping (from both the owl and the slayer). Harry managed to calm the animal down, and stop Buffy staking it, all while he was in utter hysterics. Eventually he managed to take the letter the owl was carrying, and seeing Ron's Handwriting, opened it quickly. Buffy leant over his shoulder to read it, shooting wary glances at the waiting owl.

            Hey Harry!

            Dumbledore told Dad that you're going to America to live with the slayer!! Is that true!? Ow. Hermione just poked me with a quill. She says of course it's not true, because the slayer doesn't exist…

            Harry! This is Hermione. Be careful!! She must be a deatheater posing as the slayer to

            Sorry about that, she grabbed it off me. I gotta agree this is weird though Harry! Every book I've ever, sorry, every book _Hermione_ has ever read says that the slayer is no more than a myth! But I guess if you're reading this you must be alive, and if Dumbledore trusts her, and Mum and Dad aren't worried, then I guess it must be ok. Hermione just stabbed me with her quill again and tried to grab this again, then stormed out. 

            Ah well, so what's it like in America!? In fact, what's she like!? Is she hot? Write back quick, Harry, I want to know everything!! Dumbledore was so cryptic!  I have to go, Hermione is coming back… Are you still gonna be able to come stay? Hope so. See you soon.

-Ron.

Buffy grinned at her brother, and Harry chuckled.

            "So?" Buffy asked.

            "So what?"

            "So, write back. Answer the boy's question."

            "Ooh no." Harry said, realising what she meant. Buffy produced a stake.

            "Write."

------

The second Owl came only about half an hour later, looking very flustered. It dropped the letter, and collapsed on the worktop. Buffy prodded it, and determined that it was in fact alive, just exhausted and rather haranged. One look at the letter told Harry why. He chuckled.

            "It's from Hermione." He said.

Dear Harry,

            I know Ron is being stupid about this, and I don't know how she managed to fool Dumbledore…

            "She's just ranting about how you must be evil." Harry laughed. "Blah blah blah, 'I can't stress enough how careful you must be. I can only pray, however ridiculous a thought it is, that all the books I've read were wrong, and Dumbledore has not be tricked. Do be careful, Harry. 

Love Hermione."

            "What is she, your mother, or just your _girl friend_?" Buffy teased.

            "No! No way. Just a friend, she just takes a lot of stock in books."

            "Maybe you should write back and tell her I'm not evil!"

            "It's hard to convince them without saying that you're my sister! But I want to surprise them… god, you _have_ to meet them!"

            "I know! I can't wait to meet these people!" So Harry wrote back to Hermione, telling her that Buffy really wasn't evil, and would _not_ try to kill him.

            Several hours later, when they were at Giles' with the gang, yet another owl accosted them, terrifying Willow as it barged past her through the door as she came in. This one was from Lupin and the other's of the order of the phoenix.

Dear Harry,

            Dumbledore got word to us that you are going to America to stay with the slayer. Of course I, unlike most, know that the slayer is in fact no myth, but this still shocks me! How did this come about? Moody insists that it must be some trick to get you away from your family. I have to agree that Dumbledore had said many a time that you are only safe with your family. What happened to change his mind? He only says, very cryptically, that you will explain. Well please do! Tonks keeps changing involuntarily with nervousness, and Moody has almost killed every one of us if we've made sudden movements. Hopefully this will reach you quickly, we're using an express owl. Please write back, we are eager for some explanation!

-R. Lupin.

            "Why does everyone you know go all paranoid when they hear you've met someone they don't know?" Buffy asked.

            "Pretty much the big evil wizard trying to kill me thing." Harry replied.

            "Ah, yeah that. Guess you better write back then."

So he did. Harry kept waiting for a brightly coloured bird to come next. Every time he heard the sound of flapping wings he looked eagerly towards the window for Sirius' owl. Of course, it didn't come. And it never would.

            A few days later, back in England, in a wonky little house called 'the Burrow' to be exact, Ron Weasley ducked the owl that soared through his window.

            "Oh! It must be from Harry!" Hermione cried. She had come to stay with Ron almost a week ago. "Open it! Quick!" She ordered Ron.

            "I am!" He moaned. He ripped open the letter, and began to read it aloud. However, after about a line, he stopped and wouldn't say why, so Hermione grabbed it and read it herself.

Ron and Hermione,

          Hi. Hermione- I really am ok!! Buffy is the coolest! She is NOT a deatheater. 

Dammit- Ron, why did you have to ask if she was hot? Now I'm being held at stake point while I write this!!

Hermione hit Ron around the head.

            "Ron! This is a serious situation!"

Then she continued the letter,

Oh. I just got you hit, didn't I? Sorry Ron. OW! Ok, I have to answer, so yes, Buffy is very hot. There, she's happy now. So… Hermione I swear she's a good guy, and I'm not gonna explain it all now, but if you don't mind Buffy coming to stay as well as me, then you can meet her soon. I know you'll like her, and Hermione, you'll love her friend Willow. I can't wait to see you guys, you wont believe some of the stuff I have to tell you!

See you soon,

-Harry.

"There has to be more than that!" Ron exclaimed, grabbing the letter back. "How can he just say, 'I have loads to tell you', and then not!?"

"Well, he seems to be ok, and he didn't sound like he's all depressed about Sirius, so that has to be good, right?"

"Humph." Ron murmured, and sat heavily on his bed. "I can't believe him."

Harry had been staying with his sister for over a week. In another week, it would be his 16th birthday. He and Buffy had cleared out the spare room, and gone shopping for paint. Buffy had been all for bright green, but Harry had countered that he would be blind by the end of the summer if he stayed in a room painted that colour.  So they finally decided on a deep midnight blue. They also chose a lighter blue carpet. The next day the whole scooby gang pulled together to paint the room, although Giles mostly stood back and told the others what to do. By lunch time about half the room was done, and there seemed to be more paint on them than the walls. That had started when Buffy, standing on a stepladder to reach the top of the wall, accidentally dripped a brush-full of paint onto Willow's head below her. Chaos ensued. Soon everyone but Giles, who ran out and barricaded the door, was throwing paint about, soaking the others in thick emulsion. When they finally ran out of steam, the group looked around, laughing- they were all coated in dark blue. Oz calmly stated that it was an interesting colour, and maybe he should keep his hair like this. Harry just listened as Buffy and her friends giggled and babbled nonsense about the uses of blue paint. It was then that he realised he'd just had a paint fight with a group of people he'd met only a little over a week ago, were over two years older than him, and had saved the world more than once, and they were now chatting and laughing as if they didn't have a care in the world. Giles stuck his head gingerly round the door.

"Is it over?" He asked Harry, apparently believing that as the new comer, Harry might be more trustworthy. Buffy, just out of Gile's view, around the side of the door, nodded emphatically at Harry, a wicked grin on her face.

"Yeah, we're done." Harry told the watcher.

"Thank god." Giles said, steeping into the room. At a cry from Buffy, the group pinned Giles against the wall, and the remaining paint was poured straight over his head. "Thank you very much Harry." Giles spluttered.

----

Eva so slightly random chapter, lotsa things rolled into one, but I hope ya liked it. Please review!!


	9. Birthday Surprise

Heya people! Still luvin u guys!

Thanks for the many explanations for the semester dealio.

Questions:

Bugger13(heya!) and BashfulC- this is just after season 3, Spike and Dawn aren't around yet. Dawn doesn t exist, and Spike is off being mopey about dru, sorry guys. Spike might turn up later, and Dawn if I go into the next year (so that'll be a long time coming if eva!!)

c.s.- do I need to say it?

JediButtercup- I have some of the plot figured, but strange and disorganised as it may seem, I tend to work better when I just let it flow.

Wild320- Buffy is Harry's sister!! No, shes NOT gonna get with Ron!! EW! I no its only two years difference, but…. She's Harry's sister!! No!

Kyra2- I'm not gonna say yes or no to Sirius yet. I gotta admit I'm not positive myself, cos it'll be difficult to make it work. I may try, I may not, u'll have to wait an' see!!

Hey Becks- all go read Becks89's stories and/or bug her to update!!

Ooh! One last thing, lotr Return of the king is incredible!! U must all go see it (after u read my story, duh) but its wicked!! And legolas and Gimly are so funny! And merry and Pippin!! And legolas…..

Hu-hum! Right, yes, story….

Chapter 9 

By Harry's birthday, thanks to Buffy's almost scary enthusiasm, his new room was ready to move into. Buffy tied a scarf around his eyes, and lead her brother into the middle of the room. Unable to see, Harry could just smell the distinctive aroma of fresh paint, new carpet, and new furniture. He could feel the deep carpet under his feet, and hear Buffy and Willow whispering behind him, though he couldn't define the words. Eventually, Buffy whipped off the blindfold, and they all cried,

"Happy Birthday!" 

Harry gasped. The room (which he had been band from since the painting) was decorated beautifully, a new, honey coloured wooden bed against one wall, with a matching bedside table and desk, which was against the opposite wall. There was a wardrobe Harry had seen stored in the room before the restoration, as well as lamps and other finishing touches he knew Buffy had picked out. On the bed sat a small pile of presents wrapped in brightly coloured paper. Buffy was looking a him expectantly, and a little nervously, biting her bottom lip,

            "So? What do you think?" She asked.

            "It's incredible!" He cried, "I've never… wow…" Harry hugged his sister. His mind was boggling at the fact that he had known this girl two weeks, and already she was his family in every way. He couldn't imagine life without Buffy, as she had filled a hole within 'the boy who lived' which had been there since he was one year old. 

            Harry couldn't help looking at the pile of presents, "Those aren't all for me?" He said curiously.

            "Of course they're for you, dummy." Buffy scoffed. "Who the heck else would they be for!? Sorry there aren't more, I didn't really know what you would want, and I couldn't go to any wizarding places cos I don't know if there are any in Sunnydale, and…"

            "Buffy. It's amazing." Harry said, cutting her off. "Definitely the best birthday yet."

Buffy felt a tug within her, and had to hold back tears, feeling incredibly soppy and pathetic.

            "Really?" She managed.

            "Totally."

            "For gods sake open the presents!" Xander exclaimed impatiently. Buffy chuckled,

            "Yeah, come on." 

So he did. From Giles there was a large book on Slayer lore and demons, to which Buffy rolled her eyes, and whispered 'you can always give it to Hermione!' From Xander, a DVD of 'Apocalypse Now', which he attempted to babble about, but got cut of by Willow's excited squeal of,

            "Ours now!" as she thrust a squashy parcel into Harry's hands, and grinned at Oz. Harry opened it to find a pair of gloves, a woolly hat, and the longest scarf he had ever seen. Buffy laughed, raising her eyebrows at Willow. "It's cold in England!" the redhead cried in her own defence.

            "It's not the arctic, Will!" Buffy said grinning.

            "They're great." Harry conceded. "Very practical… for Winter."

            "Yet right now it's July…" Xander stated, dodging Willow's blow. They all laughed, and turned to Buffy. She looked nervous, but passed Harry a strangely shaped package,

            "I didn't know…" she murmured. Harry carefully peeled back the paper, finding a gorgeous sheathed dagger, engraved with intricate, ancient designs. Harry pulled the actual dagger out, starring at it incredulously, and saw that it was made of a deep dark, greenish wood. 

            "Wow." He gasped. "Buffy…"

            "Well… y'know… I figured with all the trouble you seem to get into, and me being the slayer… I hope its ok…"

            "It's beautiful." Harry said, his voice still distant, his eyes still on the dagger.

            "There's this too." Buffy added, handing him a tiny package. Harry gently slid the dagger back into it's sheath, and took the small present. It turned out to be a small wooden cross on a black cord,

            "More manly than my one." Buffy told him.

            "It's cool." Harry said. His insides felt wobbly- this was definitely the best birthday ever. "Thank you. For everything… it's amazing…" he said.

            "There's more!" Buffy said, "Your friend's presents arrived earlier- how do owls know to give it to someone else when it's your birthday?" She gave him the three parcels, which he found were from Ron, Hermione, and the order. Ron had sent a huge box of sweets and some samples from the twin's shop, for which there were no instruction, just a note from Ron saying gleefully that he would let Harry figure out what they did. Hermione's was a book on 'The _Myth_ Of The Slayer.' Harry cracked up, loving Hermione's denial. From the order, Harry received assorted small gifts, from a tiny handheld foeglass from Moody to Tonks' sachet of pink hair dye, as a joke… Harry _hoped_ it was a joke.

            Later in the day, Buffy produced the most immense birthday cake Harry had ever seen- it even rivalled Dudley's and the gang stayed up through most of the night eating ridiculous amounts of cake, sweets and ice cream, eventually getting around to Xander accidently eating a canary cream, and bursting into bright yellow feathers. Even Oz laughed hysterically.

            That night, Buffy lay restlessly in her bed. It had been a great day, but now that silence had fallen on the Potter's house, Buffy just could not sleep. After hours of tossing and turning, Buffy finally drifted off…

This type of dream was getting all too familiar. Buffy saw flashing images, scenes from her past, scenes she knew were from Harry's past, and scenes of both their futures, or at least possible futures. Few were slow enough to really register, but now and then, one would be more solid- _Faith telling her 'you can't stop him, B' – Harry screaming in pain- a great castle she presumed was Hogwarts-_ but after the first time, the images were constantly accompanied by Faith's words, _'you can't stop him, B. You'll never stop him'._ Suddenly it _all_ stopped, and Buffy just saw _a tall man with dark hair, starring at her, 'Until the four ride again, you alone can protect him.' He said without moving his lips, _and Buffy sat bolt upright in bed, breathing heavily.

She looked at her clock,

            "Great." She snapped, irritated. "Ten minutes of sleep. Ten stupid minutes. Stupid friggin dreams." She flopped back down onto her bed, and pulled the covers over her head.

            "Morning." Harry said, yawning as he came down the stairs. Buffy was curled up on the sofa, watching cartoons. 

            "Morning." She replied. Harry chuckled as an anvil fell on a character.

            "Such an intellectual." He teased. Buffy stuck out her tongue. 

            "Leave me alone." She said, following the childish face with a pout. Harry laughed out loud, and huddled onto the sofa next to her,

            "You ok?" He asked.

            "Yeah, just didn't sleep too well. But I'll be fine, that's the one good thing about being the slayer, you get used to no sleep… or is that a bad thing…?"

            "You ate too much cake, didn't you?" Harry said, jokily scolding.

            "Didn't eat as much as you, fatso." She said, poking him in the stomach.

            "Hey!" Harry cried. They ended up in an awkward sort of wrestle, both trying not to fall off the sofa. But with slayer strength on her side, Buffy managed to tickle Harry into submission.

            "Ha. Round one to the slayer." Buffy said triumphantly.

            "I shall bide my time." Harry said in classic James Bond bad guy style. Buffy snorted a laugh, and stood up,

            "Tea?" She asked.

---------

 Bit shorter than usual, sorry. 

Hm, slayer dreams are always fun to write… dunno why… Anyway, review please!!


	10. Opening up

Christmas Prezzie- mega long chapter!!

Thanks so much (again) for all your reviews!!

BrokenSkye- Buffy wont be a squib, I can tell u that. As for going to Hogwarts VS staying in Sunnyhell, u'll have to wait and see!! (and LOTR- Legolas!! *daydreams* but Eowyn was cool in this one too!)

Wild320- Buffy will end up with someone eventually- not Xander, not Riley, urgh, definitely not Riley, DEFINITELY not Ron, but she will end up with someone. ;) Not entirely sure how many chapters until Hogwarts time, but they'll be going to England within the next few chapters!

c.s- J u no the answer to the question you didn't ask.

Becks- Yes, I know I spelt Banned wrong. Sorry, please don't sue, but I cant be bothered to go change it now. And… You pick on me, so why shouldn't I pick on you!? J

OOH! And all go check out Witchlight and Shoot star19!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!

(im going away for a few days, so I wont be able to update til I get back!)

Enjoy…

Chapter 10 

            Later that day:

            "What ya doin'?" Buffy asked, though she could easily guess, as Harry was holding a piece of parchment, and stroking an official looking owl.

            "Letter from Ron." He replied with a smile.

            "Cool. Any good gossip?" She said with a cheeky grin. Harry chuckled, 

            "Well, as predicted, he got hit round the head when 'Mione read the last letter. Ginny is still driving him mad… and heh-heh, the twins wanna meet you."

            "The twins, huh?" Buffy said, settling beside him on the sofa. "They're the ones who're my age, right?"

Harry nodded, and chuckled, but he could tell that there was something beneath the frivolous act. Buffy was playing the shallow blonde to cover up the life's worth of depth she had gained in the last couple of years. Harry smiled back, not wanting to break Buffy's mood, even if it was fake.

            "Yeah, they're your age. Buffy… Ron says Dumbledore said I could go stay with them now. He says his parents would be happy to have you too… y'know, if ya want?"

            "That would be wicked!" Buffy exclaimed, her eyes lighting up with real excitement. "I'd love to actually meet these people you keep going on about! When?"

            "Whenever, he said to write back." Harry replied, grinning at Buffy's enthusiasm. "I usually end up being there for the last couple of weeks of the holidays…"

            "So we could stay here for two weeks, and then go to England before you go back to school?" Buffy suggested.

            "Yeah. Sounds good." Harry agreed. 

            "And… maybe I could come see the school? Cos like… castle… and giant squid…and Hagrid… and…"

            "I get it, you wanna see Hogwarts!" Harry laughed, "And Dumbledore said you should try to learn some magic. Maybe you could stick around at school for a while."

Buffy made a face,

            "I'm meant to be going to UC Sunnydale in the fall."

            "In the…?" Harry said frowning.

            "Oh! Autumn. Fall is autumn."

            "Oh! I get it."

            "Mind you… I don't know where the money is gonna come from. Without mom… unless dad pays up, I guess…" Buffy winced, "Except they're not my mom and dad." She added under her breath. Harry laid a comforting hand on hers. 

            "Don't worry about it. I'm sure… Mr Summers… will pay up, and even if he doesn't… Our parents left me quite a bit of money. Kinda tonnes of money, actually… literally tonnes… So I guess that's yours now too."

            "Serious? Our parents were rich?" Buffy said, eyes wide. Harry chuckled, 

            "Apparently."

            "Wicked cool." She said. Harry saw his sister falter again, as if that simple phrase jolted her in some way, like it bought hard memories. He wished she would open up to him. He knew she was bottling up difficult feelings, and it definitely couldn't be good.

            "Ok." Harry said, "We can figure out school stuff later. Right now I'll write back to Ron and tell him… two weeks? That's the fourteenth, right?"

            "Yeah, sounds good." Buffy said, shaking herself back to her perky mood. Harry nodded, and forced a smile. He wished he knew what was bothering Buffy.

-------------

A few days later, Harry overheard Buffy talking to Giles in the sitting room. He meant to walk away, he really did, but for some reason his legs just wouldn't move.

            "…it freaked me out, Giles." Buffy was saying, "I saw stuff… and heard things… she kept saying I couldn't stop him. Over and over. It was like… Giles, I think she's gonna wake up."

            "Soon?" The ex-watcher asked, alarmed.

            "I couldn't tell. But I'm pretty sure that it wasn't just a mind thing, it was premonition, something she _will_ say to me sometime… then of course there was the guy…"

            "The man at the end?"

            "Yeh. 'until the four ride again, you alone can protect him'. What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

            "Do you think he meant Harry?"

            "Yeah, I do. But the four… I guess that could be the marauders…" Buffy trailed off thoughtfully, and Harry swallowed, leaning closer to hear better.

            "The whats?" Giles asked.

            "Marauders. Harry's… _our_ Dad and his friends at school. They learnt to be animagi, and basically caused mayhem. Or, three of them learnt to be animagi, one was a werewolf."

            "Oh?" Giles said, obviously truly interested. "How old were they? It is not easy to be an animagus, and don't you have to register…?"

            "Yes, you have to register, but they didn't. And they were in third year at Hogwarts I think… Did it to keep Lupin company. Kinda sweet really…"

            "Lupin? The werewolf was named Lupin? Is that a nickname, or his real one?"

            "Real. Why?" Buffy said, confused.

            "Lupin means wolf."

            "Ha! Really? Well that's wiggy." Buffy sighed, "Anyway, that's a dumb theory… they cant be the four that he meant. My dad is dead, Sirius is dead, and Wormtail is a deatheater. Unless Lupin plans to be four in one, those four can never ride again."

            "Stranger things have happened." Giles replied, "I mean, you died, and you're still here."

            "That's different, Giles. I drowned. Sirius and my Dad aren't comin' back so easy." Buffy said sadly.

            "Yes, I suppose. I'll get Willow and the others on research then? 'The Four'?"

            "That would be cool. But don't tell…" Buffy paused, rolled her eyes, and turned towards the door, "Harry?" He winced. Dammit. Dammit. Dammit. He stepped out, looking sheepish. Buffy chuckled at his face, but he could see that she was worried.

            "That's what's been on your mind, huh?" He asked, "That …vision or whatever it was…"

            "Yeah… it was a dream- Slayer dream. I have 'em now an' then, tend to be nasty and often prophetic."

            "Nice." Harry replied. He bit his lip, dying to ask so many questions about the things he'd heard. Buffy rolled her eyes again,

            "Just ask." She said. He smiled gratefully, and came properly into the room, sitting beside his sister.

            "Ok… well then… the guy who said the thing about 'the four'… what did he look like?" This wasn't the question Buffy had been expecting, and she faltered for a moment, a little shocked.

            "Well… tall… long dark hair, really dark eyes… he… he had a sorta air of sadness about him…"

            "It was Sirius." Harry said quietly.

            "Sirius?" Buffy repeated, "How can you be sure…?"

            "One moment." Harry said, running off. He returned with the photo album that Hagrid had given him in his first year. Of course he had shown Buffy the pictures of their parents, and casually pointed Sirius out, but looking at the picture pained him, so he hadn't dwelt on it. "Look at this." Harry said, showing Buffy the wedding picture.

            "Damn." Buffy exclaimed, "That's him… I didn't notice, cos he looked much older, kinda worn… but that's him, that's the guy."

            "Which means some part of him is still there." Harry said triumphantly, "And that the four probably is the marauders!"

            "Harry… these things are often symbolic… it doesn't mean Sirius can come back. And the four cant be the marauders… you know that." Buffy said.

            "It has to be." Harry said quietly, "He _has_ to come back! I _know_ there has to be a way! There has to be!" Buffy bundled her now shaking brother into a hug, holding him tight, letting him finally let out some of the grief he found it so hard to bear. Though she knew it was selfish, part of her was sighing in relief that he had not asked about 'her'. There was still a gaping hole within the slayer left from the loss of the one person in this world who could ever fully understand her. No matter now much they disagreed, only they knew what it was to be a slayer. No one else could share that, and that made them sisters. So Buffy held her brother, and let him sob, all the time praying he would not ask any more.

[See now, I _could _stop the chapter there… but, aw, it's Christmas!]

----

            "No!" Buffy said firmly, yet again.

            "But _why_!? I didn't get bitten or hurt before!" Harry retorted.

            "Not for lack of trying!" Buffy cried. "There is no _way_ you are coming patrolling again! I told you, not yet!"

            "We were patrolling at his age." Xander said conversationally.

            "DON'T help me, Xander!" Buffy snapped.

            "Buffy, I'm not a kid! I can handle myself! You even gave me that knife!" Harry insisted.

            "I know you can, Harry! I really do- of course you can handle yourself. I know what it's like to be forced into a situation, and I know you can cope, but I don't need you to complicate things more by getting yourself vamp-ified!!"

            "I wont get bitten!!" He cried.

            "No, you wont, cos you'll be here, where vampires can't get." Buffy said happily, and stuck another stake into her waistband. "See ya later." She kissed Harry on the cheek, and waved to Xander, Willow and Oz, who much to Harry's irritation had been called over to 'hang out' with him. Saying he didn't need a baby sitter didn't help. "Don't wait up." Buffy told them. Harry glared at her, and she couldn't help but chuckle. "Don't pout, Harry, you look like a girl." She teased. Harry cracked a smile, before quickly covering it, but his eyes were still laughing. How the hell could she always do that? Buffy grinned, "See ya." And walked out of the door.

            Buffy walked through the silent graveyard, letting the warm night breeze blow gently on her skin, and breathing in the wondrous smells of summer. She closed her eyes briefly as she walked.

            _Never_

Buffy stopped dead, her eyes open in a flash. She looked around, but saw no one. She swallowed nervously, pulling out a stake.

            _Never_

The voice came again, making Buffy jump. It sounded as if it were carried in the breeze, merely part of nature's own voice… But she knew better, she knew that voice.

            _You'll never stop him!_

It said, the words sharp, almost physically stinging. 

            _Never! You hear me!? Never!_

 The voice suddenly screamed the words. Buffy slammed her hands over her ears, trying to block out the screams, but it made no difference. 

            _NEVER!! NEVER!!_

Buffy fell to her knees, the screams pounding into her head. Then as suddenly as they'd come, the sounds ceased, apart from one last word, which was more of a whisper,

            _Never._

And for a second, Buffy could have sworn she saw her sister slayer slumped on the ground before her, tears in her eyes, desperation in her voice.

            _Never._

She said again, before disappearing once more. Buffy's eyes were wide. She let herself drop backwards to lean against a headstone. A lone tear trickled down her cheek, and she wondered, no longer certain, if the visions were ones of the future, or Faith's warning to her from her hospital bed only a mile away. It wouldn't be the first time Faith had warned her through their strange mental slayer link. Buffy would not have defeated the mayor if it wasn't for his own right hand gal. Strange as it was, right then, Buffy prayed that Faith would awaken soon. Right now even. 

The hospital was dark, most patients asleep, understandably- it was the middle of the night. But the slayer crept silently through the corridors to a lonely wing of the hospital, where no nightlights were lit, and the air felt colder. In the last room on this hall, Buffy stepped into the bare room- bare except for the one bed and various monitors at its side. In the bed lay a dark haired girl. Her skin was milking white, her cheeks sunken, and her arms by her side, utterly still. The only proof that she lived on was the regular but slow beeping of one of the machines, and the ripple of the line on the monitor every few seconds. Buffy looked around for a chair, but found none, so she just stood beside the bed, scared to ruffled the covers. Some would have said the 'sleeping' girl looked peaceful, but Buffy knew it was not so. She looked _dead_. And there was no smile on her face. Her face was blank, no expression at all, but to Buffy it was terribly sad, and not just little bit scared.

            "I don't think you can hear me." Buffy said quietly, "But…" She let out a frustrated breath, and marched out of the room, returning moments later with a chair, "If I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do it right." She murmured. She placed the chair by the bed, and sat, carefully taking the other slayer's icy hand in her own. "I'm actually pretty sure you can't hear me, or shouldn't be able to anyhow… but who knows? We slayers tend to surprise people, huh? …I gotta admit I miss you, Faith… Every day there is this war inside of me, part of me wanting you to wake up, part of me dreading it… I've been scared to come see you… which is totally pathetic, I know… I… things are gonna get bad again. I can feel it, and if you were…" Buffy's voice almost cracked, but she pulled it back together, "If you were… awake… I know you'd feel it too. I wonder if you're having the dreams too? Did ya know I have a brother? He's famous! And a wizard… name's Harry. Very cool kid- I think you'd like him. But he's in danger, Faith… there is a bad wizard out to get him, and I don't know how I'm meant to protect him from that… but I know I have to…" She trailed off, just gazing at her fellow slayer's face. In her mind, she was chanting, _wake up- just wake up_ but the brunette did not respond to her plea. As the moments ticked by, and the silence seemed to expanded, another tear escaped Buffy's eye, "I love you , Faith, I hope you know that. I wish things had never gotten so bad… I wish I had been a better friend, and been there when you needed me instead of freaking out… You are my sister, Faith. Whether you can hear me or not, know that you are my sister; Now and always. I don't care what you did. I just want my sister back." More tears now fell, Buffy willing the girl to awake with all her heart, "God please!" She sobbed, "Please wake up!" She fell forwards onto the bed, her hands cradling Faith's, and her tears soaking the sheets, "Please!"

-----------

Maybe not a very Christmassy ending, but hey, it was a really long chapter!! Sorry if people like the buffy being a totally unreasonable bitch to Faith stuff, but (as you may have noticed) I'm a major Faith fan, and I just think that inside both Buffy and Faith need each other. (as proved, eventually, at the very end of Buffy- they both trust each other when it comes down to it)Anyway- more of that later!! Right now, MerryChristmas, have a great holiday, and review!! :D


	11. And closing him out again

Woohoo! All hail computer fixy people! The laptop is back and ready to rumble, as is this new chapter for you wonderful people! *grins*

I'm so glad so many of you say u like Faith, cos I'm a major Faith fan and some of the things you said gave me ideas… :D

C.S- thanx so much for ur email, and although it wasn't now when you asked, hey, new chapter now!

LadyPotter1- You'll have to wait and see what happens on the Faith front! As for willow, she wont be coming to England as yet, maybe later.

Becks89- OI! Scrouge!? How can you say that when u saw how hyper I was at the end of term!? Meanie.

So, without further ado, heres the chappie, OH! And happy new year everybody!!

Chapter 11- And Closing him out again 

            When Buffy returned home in the early hours of the next morning, Harry watched her from a tiny crack between the door frame and his bedroom door. Her cheeks were stained red from tears, and she sniffed softly as she approached her own door.

            "Buff?" Xander asked, coming out of Joyce's old room. "That you? You ok?"

            "Yeah… sorry I'm so late." She whispered.

            "Buffy…" Xander gasped, seeing her red cheeks and sore eyes. "What happened?"

            "Nothing. Nothing happened…" Buffy tried to blow him off, but Xander nudged her into her room, and closed the door behind himself. 

            "You've been crying- what happened?"

Buffy sighed,

            "I just… nothing… I really am fine. Just thinking too much about stuff."

Xander gave her a withering look.

            "Buff, I may not be the brightest, but I know when my friends are in pain. What were you thinking about? No dodging!"

Buffy slumped on the edge of her bed, Xander sitting beside her.

            "You know the dream I had the other night, right?"

            "Yeah."

            "Well… in it I saw Faith, and she said 'you can't stop him'. Cryptic as hell like usual, but… when I was patrolling tonight, I heard her again… it was like she was screaming it over and over in my head…and then I saw her…"

            "In your mind?"

            "No… it was like she was really there, in front of me… she looked awful, Xand…" Buffy was starring blankly across the room, "I miss her, Xander… I miss her so much…" Xander was shocked as the slayer's voice came close to a sob. "I know what she did… but some part of me doesn't care! I want her to wake up! I just want her back. I know that's bad…"

            "No." Xander said quietly. He put his arms around his friend and pulled her close, "That's not bad, Buff. It's not bad to care. I understand."

            Outside the door, his ear held against the painted wood, Harry was more confused than ever. Faith… he knew that was the other slayer, but what had she done? And what did Buffy mean that she wanted her to wake up? Why would that be bad? At the sound of Xander's footsteps nearing the door, Harry swiftly ran back to his room, but sleep didn't come for a long time, while he wondered what it was that his sister was hiding from him.

            Harry didn't mention it, partly because he was afraid to admit eavesdropping and partly because he didn't want to ruin Buffy's good mood, even though, or perhaps especially because, it was all a put on for him. 

For the two weeks in SunnyDale, the Potter siblings did everything fun that Buffy could think of. They went to the Sun cinema to see the latest movie, (Harry got very excited seeing as thanks to the Dursleys, he'd never been to the cinema- Buffy was outraged) they went iceskating (Another first- now Buffy was fuming, and ready to fly back to England just to pulverise her uncle) and they went to the zoo.

The whole gang came along, though Xander refused to go anywhere near the Hyenas. Harry said that was fine- he was more interested in seeing the reptiles. Buffy looked at him warily as he grinned while saying this. They entered the cool dark building, and moved along, looking in at the lit windows.

"Ooh!" Willow exclaimed, "This one looks like the mayor!" Buffy grinned, 

"Yeah… just a little bit smaller." She chuckled.

"Who's a little mini mayor?" Xander cooed. Harry raised his eyebrows, and Oz clapped Xander on the shoulder,

"You have issues, man." He said. Xander nodded, sniffing back mock tears,

"High school wounded me."

Willow, who had moved on with Buffy and Harry, now said,

            "Ooh, this one's cool."

            "Python." Buffy said, looking at the sign. "Cool." 

Harry was grinning. The python looked at him strangely. 

            [a wizard.] Harry heard in his mind. He nodded. [so strange, in a town like this. And so rare to find one who understands me.]

            "Yeah, very few can." He said. Buffy and the others looked at him,

            "Harry? Did you sneeze?" Buffy asked. Harry laughed out loud. Of course all the others had heard was a strange sort of hissing noise when he'd spoken.

            "God, Buffy, he was talking to the snake, duh." Xander joked. Harry laughed again, and gave them all a knowing look. "No way!" Xander exclaimed.

            "They don't believe I'm talking to you." Harry said to the snake.

            [Of course they don't. They're muggles… except her…] Buffy jumped back in shock, as the snake came right up to the glass in front of her. [she is a witch, yes?]

            "My sister." Harry replied.

            [But she doesn't hear me?]

            "Nope." 

The snake nodded to Buffy, as if in greeting, and then winked at Xander, gaining the desired result of his eyebrows shooting up, and him nearly tripping backwards over his own feet. Harry laughed again, and Buffy could have sworn that the snake smiled.

            "That is so cool." Buffy said incredulously. "Tell it I say hi."

            "She says hi." Harry translated. The snake once again nodded to Buffy.

            "Cool!" She cried. 

            [Right…] the snake said. 

            "Sorry… most people don't know you _can_ talk to snakes. Buffy only just found out she was a witch."

            [Ah. Well… if you don't mind, I'm going to take a nap. Nice talking to you, kid.]

            "You too." Harry replied. Then to the others, "He's taking a nap." And sure enough, the python curled up and closed it's eyes.

            "I cannot believe you can speak to snakes!" Buffy said as they moved on. "That is just soo cool! Is it a family thing? Could I do it?"

            "Na." Harry said more quietly, losing some of his smile, "Dumbledore said it was from when Voldemort… like he, sorta transferred some of his own abilities into me."

            "Wiggy." Buffy said. "That happened to me once. I was fighting this telepathic demon, and I got some of its blood on my hand…"

            "Oh! Aspect of the demon!" Willow said excitedly. 

            "Shh! I'm telling it! So I got the telepathy, right? And at first it was way cool…" 

            "Don't forget the part where I save everyone." Xander cut in.

            "Let me tell the damn story!" Buffy exclaimed.

            "Ok, ok. But don't forget…" He insisted. Harry grinned, he loved it when Buffy told stories about various demon fights, because no matter how big they were, or how painful it was at the time, he could see that Buffy revelled in it, and the energy and excitement with which she told them… he just loved it.

            That same evening, they all headed over to Giles' apartment for a scooby meeting. Harry insisted on coming, and said he would set the python on Buffy if she said no. Buffy laughed, but didn't say no.

            "So what's the latest oogly-boogly?" Buffy asked her (ex)watcher. 

            "Just vampires." He replied, "A new gang in town, trying to claim leadership."

            "Oh god. Another Spike?" Buffy groaned.

            "He wishes. Not even 100. Shouldn't be too hard." Giles scoffed.

            "Cool. Do we know how many minions?" She asked.

            "Can't be sure. But you know how it is, stake the leader and they usually scatter."

            "Hideout?" Xander asked.

            "That I'm afraid I don't know." Giles replied.

            "Guess it's time to hit Willy's." Buffy sighed.

            "Literally." Willow added, perkily. Buffy grinned.

            "Can I come?" Harry asked.

            "No." Buffy said.

            "Why not? You _know_ I'll be careful! Please!? I've faced tonnes of deatheaters, I can deal!"

            "You could use magic then." Buffy reminded him. "Now you can't, unless you want to get expelled!"

            "I don't need magic- I have your knife- you wouldn't have given it to me if you didn't want me to use it."

Buffy rolled her eyes,

            "I knew that was a bad idea."

            "Please? I'm only here for like four more days."

Buffy sighed exasperatedly.

            "You get killed, don't come cryin' to me." She said sternly. Harry cracked a smile.

            "Wicked." Harry said, grinning.

----

fun fun fun, the potter siblings hit the town (as willow said, literally)

please review!!


	12. The Mayor Special

Hey people, new chappie for ya!

c.s.- Guess.

Shooting Star19- Ha! I'm not telling! You gotta wait and see! :D

Becks89- Of course I had to bring faith into it!! What do you take me for!? 

Does anyone have the buffy: chaos bleeds game!? Its soo cool, you should all go buy it! ;) seriously, its really good.

Everyone should also go and read (when you've finished mine of course!) Becks89's stuff, and witchlight and shooting star19 too!! 

Now on with the story!

Chapter 12- The Mayor Special 

            Buffy strolled into Willy's, Harry trailing behind, grinning widely, the knife tucked into his trousers.

            "Hey, slayer." Willy said nervously, "What can I do ya for?"

            "New vamp gang in town. Tell me all you know." Buffy replied. Harry watched as many of the demons left swiftly through the back door.

            "There's a new gang? I didn't know…" Willy murmured, not meeting Buffy's gaze.

            "Do I always have ta hit you?" She said.

            "No really, I don't know…" He trailed off as Buffy lifted him by his collar. "Willy, this is my little brother. ("Not that little!" Harry interjected) And I don't wanna have ta get violent in front of him. But if I have to, believe me, I will. And I will be oh-so angry." She said all this very calmly, and right into Willy's face.

            "Erm… ok… y'know the old mansion?"

            "They nicked Angel's place!?" Buffy exclaimed.

            "Erm… well, yeah…" Willy mumbled.

            "Oh I am so gonna get them." Buffy growled. "Do we know how many there are?"

            "I dunno, kid, really. But quite a few."

            "Thanks." Buffy said, putting him down again. "Harry, let's go." 

-----

"This is where your friend Angel _lived?_" Harry exclaimed. "Isn't it a bit… sunny?" It was the next morning, Buffy deciding that once they knew where the vamps were, it'd be easier to hit the mansion in the day, while they were sleeping. 

"He had lots of drapes… Harry, I'm not so sure you should be here…" Buffy began.

"I'll be fine."

"But there could be loads of them! This place is huge!"

"But I'm with the slayer." Harry grinned.

"I'm not invincible!"  She retorted, but she felt a glow of pride at Harry's faith in her. She sighed, "Just keep behind me." She ordered him.

"Yes boss." He murmured. Harry slid his knife out of it's sheath, and followed her silently down the outside stairs. Peering through the gap in the curtains across the double doors, Buffy counted five vampires.

"There's gotta be more." Buffy murmured. She lead Harry round to other windows and doors, and all together they counted fifteen vampires. "Told you there were lots!" Buffy snapped. She was biting her lip, starring at nothing in particular, wondering how in hell she was gonna do this without getting Harry killed, when she realised what she _was_ starring at: An almost full bottle of some clear, _very_ strong spirit, lying on the ground among other empty bottles. A smile crept onto her face. Buffy took the bottle, and went back to the first door. She snuck inside, making Harry wait, and stole a lighter, also ripping a piece of material off a vampire's shirt. He stirred when she did this, but was dust before he could say a word. Back outside, Buffy stuffed the cloth into the end of the bottle, ensuring it reached the alcohol. Then she handed it, and the matches, to Harry, and explained her plan. Harry gulped, but agreed, and hid right by the door. Then Buffy went back round to another window, finding a place she knew well, and where the most vamps were. She climbed through the window, and ripped away all curtains in sight.

"Wakey wakey!" She called. The vamps snapped awake, some dodging the sunlight, some just hearing Buffy's voice. "Hi boys." She said, giving them a little wave. They growled, and as expected, lunged at her. Buffy ran into the house, the vamps on her tail. She lead them through many rooms, ripping curtains and smashing windows as she went, and each time picking up more bad guys (both chasing her, and fleeing sunlight), until she reached the main room. As these guys woke up, Buffy now had twenty vampires around her. (she'd missed some in counting) Buffy grinned, pausing for a moment, then she looked to the doors, where Harry stood with  the lighted bottle. Buffy ran full pelt to the door; Harry chucked the bottle into the middle of the room, and they both leapt into the full sunlight, covering their heads as the alcohol bomb exploded in mid air, covering the vampires in flaming liquid and shattered glass. Some ran from it, and ended up in sunlight instead. When Buffy and Harry stood up, there were only a couple of vamps left, stuck in corners to avoid the fire and the sunlight. They didn't put up much of a fight, and Buffy dispatched most of them quick, Harry getting one with his new knife.

"Now _that_ was cool!" Harry said.

"I call it a Mayor Special." Buffy said, grinning widely. "You did good, kid." She nudged him.

"I'm not a kid." He replied.

            That night, three days before she and Harry were to leave, Buffy returned yet again to the hospital. She had visited her sister slayer many times since the first, finding herself praying that she would awake while Buffy was there to show her she cared. This night, sitting by Faith, no words coming to her, she just gazed at her former friend. Eventually, she said,

            "I'm not gonna come back again, before I go. I can't. I'm leaving for England in a couple of days, and…" She trailed off. "I just wish that you would wake up!" She snapped. "I want you to know that I give a damn!" She cried.

            "She knows." A small voice said behind her. Buffy spun, startled, to see Harry standing in the doorway. "If she is anything like you, then she already knows." He said.

            "Harry! What are you doing here? I didn't hear you! I told you to stay…"

            "I'm a Potter." Harry chuckled, "Judging from you and Dad, I don't think any Potters do what their told very often."

Buffy couldn't help but smile.

            "You're a dumb ass." She said.

            "So are you." He replied. Then more thoughtfully, "So this is Faith?"

            "How did you know?" Buffy asked, though she didn't sound very surprised. Harry shrugged, 

            "I've heard you talking… put bits together… The one thing I don't get is… what happened to her?" Harry walked to Buffy's side, looking down on the pale girl. Buffy sighed, 

            "Which bit?" She asked him.

            "I dunno… I got that somehow she went bad… and… ok, that's pretty much all I got…"

Buffy chuckled.

            "Faith was like a sister to me." Buffy told him with a sigh. "She was the _only_ other slayer. She was the only person on this earth who could really understand me, and me her. She accidentally killed a guy- and it _was_ an accident… but she couldn't deal. She couldn't accept responsibility, and felt that she could trust none of us… she went to someone she knew wouldn't try to tell her how what she'd done was wrong. She went to the guy who would encourage her to pretend it didn't matter, and that she didn't care… so yeah, she went bad. Very bad… she nearly killed Xander, threatened to kill Will… and…" Buffy paused. Harry realised now that she had been about to tell him part of her other big secret. He sighed,

            "It's ok." He said, "You don't have to tell me…"

            "No." Buffy said firmly. "I will. You remember I told you a bit about Angel? Well… I cut a little out… see… I love Angel. He was the love of my life… kinda still is…" Harry gaped at her. She had told him that Angel was a good vampire… but he had never suspected that… As Harry's mind cast over what she had told him about Angel, he gasped. 

            "Oh, Buffy…" He said. "When he went bad…"

            "Yeah…" 

Buffy went on to tell her brother all of it. Once she had started, it was easier just to say it all; to get all the heart ache out in one, from sending her lover to hell to stabbing her sister slayer, to making Angel drink of her. When she was finished, the first rays of dawn were creeping through the window.

            "We should go." She said to the heavy eyed teen.

            "Yeah." He said. But he didn't turn away from Faith. "Will she wake up?" He asked.

            "I hope so. God I hope so." Buffy replied. She leant down, kissing Faith on the forehead, before leading her brother out. _Be safe._ She thought to Faith _And know that I am here._        

----

*sob* :D

oooh, next chapter!! I'll give you a little peek!

"I'm gonna miss you guys." She said.

….

"Here goes." Buffy said, as her watch showed the last few seconds before four. "3, 2, 1…" The familiar sensation of an activated port key grabbed them both, and the house around them disappeared.

Hee hee!! The siblings go to England! Please review!!


	13. Departure

Thanks for all your reviews, I'm glad that you're all excited about going to England (England rocks! Lol) and that so many of you asked about Faith! 

Kyra2- yes they _are_ going to England before anything happens with Faith, but I'm not telling you what's happening with faith or when.

c.s.- Sorry that you get irritated that I haven't updated another chapter when you read my updates, but that's kinda how it works!!

Becks89- Sorry hun, but I don't think that OB is gonna be featuring in this story, so no, I can't pair you with him.

Miz- again, im not telling about faith… or Sirius. Bufyf is too old to be a student at Hogwarts, but she is going there to see it. As for buffy pairings, ;) you'll have to wait and see!

Jedi Buttercup and Silver warrior- glad you  liked the pyro stunt, fires in mansion and badguy killing very fun!

Urgh, I have a cold. Double Urgh, I actually have to go to school tomorrow. Yuck. But yey! January! New TV series! J 

All must read the usual- Becks89, witchlight, _and_ shooting star19 even though the latter hasn't updated!! Argh!! Im gonna bug u at school!

Now on with the important bit- MY story!!

Chapter 13- Departure 

            They spent their last couple of days getting ready, Buffy mostly thinking about clothes, while Harry checked he had bought presents for everyone- half his trunk was now full of muggle sweets and weird wiccan things he'd got from the magic shop. Willow spent hours talking to him about all the things each item could do when used to its full potential.

            Buffy began to worry about how the Hell Mouth would do without her, but Giles insisted that all would be well, and that she deserved a break, plus, Harry's protection was important. This she totally agreed with. Despite her worries, there was no way Buffy wouldn't have gone, for she knew she must protect Harry. 

            On the 13th, Buffy was overrun with nerves. Despite all her joking, she was terrified of meeting all Harry's friends. They'd arranged for Dumbledore to apparate over and give them a port key that evening, set to take them to the Burrow for noon (English time) of the 14th. At first Harry had thought it strange that Dumbledore would come personally when he knew the headmaster must be busy, but when he arrived, Harry saw in his eyes the guilt from his actions over the last year. Dumbledore intended to show Harry that he was there for him now, and that he was determined to keep him safe.

            "Hello again, Miss Potter, Harry." Dumbledore said, smiling warmly. "I trust you have had a good month?"

            "Yeah…" Buffy began, "God, has it really been a month?" She gasped.

            "Yep." Harry said, equally shocked, "Four weeks. Wow."

Dumbledore chuckled,

            "They do say that time flies when you're having fun, do they not?"

            "Yeah, _they_ do." Buffy smirked. 

            "Now… this is the port key. To arrive at midday, it shall activate at four o'clock tomorrow morning. Ensure you are both holding the portkey and all your luggage." Dumbledore told them, handing over a hard boiled egg. Buffy frowned at the egg, and then grimaced,

            "Right. Four in the morning. Damn time differences." She said.

            "That should be fun. Oooh, you'll have bed hair." Harry teased.

            "No! I'll… ok, alarm for 3." Buffy decided, rushing off. Harry laughed, and turned to Dumbledore,

            "She's kinda nervous." He said.

            "Understandably. I presume none of them know of your true connection yet?"

            "Nope. They all just think I'm with the slayer."

            "I wish I could see _that_ revelation." Dumbledore said, chuckling again. "But, alas, I have business to attend to. In fact, I should take my leave of you, Harry. Enjoy the rest of your holiday- I shall see you at school."

            "Yeah. Thanks, Professor, for everything."

            "Don't mention it, Harry." They looked up the stairs as Buffy rushed past the top, murmuring something to herself, before hurrying back in the other direction again. "I… will you say goodbye to your sister for me? I feel I should not disturb her." Dumbledore said.

            "Yeah, I will." Harry replied with a grin, finding Buffy's terror very amusing. Dumbledore nodded to Harry, and disappeared.

            Less than an hour later, the scoobies came over, and Willow went to calm Buffy and help with the last minute packing. Harry was going over all his stuff yet again- Buffy was making him nervous about leaving things.

            "You ok?" Xander asked, leaning against the door frame. 

            "Yeah." Harry replied with a sigh, "Buffy's making me edgy… which is dumb, cos I already know all these people, and if we forget stuff it'll take around two seconds to get it using magic."

Xander laughed,

            "Yeah, Buff is freaking a bit, huh?"

            "That's an understatement… But I guess I understand it. Tomorrow is the first day she'll have to be Buffy Potter. Once we've told them, that's who they'll see her as, that's who they'll know her as… that and 'the slayer'. She's gonna meet a whole load of people who will have loads of preconceptions and doubts, and…"

            "I suppose you felt some of that when you came here." Xander said.

            "Yeah, a little… Buffy was so good about it… I don't know what else I can say to her though."

            "Not teasing her about bed hair might help." Xander chuckled. Harry smiled,

            "Yeah… ok, that's it, I have everything I can possibly need, don't let me check this again, no matter _what_ Buffy says. Oh crap… have you seen Hedwig?" 

            "Nope, sorry." Xander replied, as Harry rushed past to search the rest of the house.

            "It's a mad house." Oz said conversationally as Harry sailed past the living room door. 

            "Yes." Giles replied. They were sitting on the couch, Oz being characteristically quiet, and Giles looking rather awkward. "I wonder if they need any help?" Giles said, going to stand.

            "I wouldn't." Oz warned him, holding out one hand to stop the watcher. Just then, Xander's muffled voice travelled down the stairs, asking the girls upstairs if there was anything he could do.

            "Out, out, OUT!!" They heard Buffy yell, and Xander came hurtling down the stairs, looking ruffled.

            "She doesn't need help." He said shakily.

Eventually Buffy let the bags be, although Harry got the feeling that Willow may well have had to use the resolve face to keep her away from them. Hedwig returned with a mouthful of dead mouse ('nice.' Buffy said grimacing) and the siblings collapsed exhausted in the living room. 

"You'll be fine, Buffy." Willow said reassuringly.

"Suuure I will." I Buffy said, unconvinced, "With a whole loada people I've never met, half of whom think I don't exist, all of whom can do magic, and I can't, and they'll all expect me to be all big, strong slayer, but I'm not! I'm just me! Buffy me! Me… Buffy, little, babbling Buffy with crap for brains, and…"

"Buffy!" Harry cut her off. "Cool it. You _will_ be fine. I promise. They'll love you!"

"Well they're dumb if they don't." Xander agreed.

"And this Hermione sounds really clever, so there you go!" Willow stated as if this resolved the whole thing. Buffy grinned,

"I'm gonna miss you guys." She said.

"It's only two weeks." Said Willow.

"Yeah… or, no… a bit longer at least, I wanna see Hogwarts…" 

"Have you decided on Hogwarts or UC Sunnydale yet?" Xander asked quietly, knowing it was a delicate subject. Buffy sighed.

"I don't know. I'd love to learn magic… but I can't really leave the hellmouth unguarded…"

"We can patrol." Willow said.

"Yeah, Willow can be magic girl, and I'll work out, and become, like, super Xander!!"

"You guys sound way too enthusiastic!" Buffy scolded, "You really that desperate to get rid of me!?"__

            "No! Buffy, we just mean that, y'know, if you _want_ to stay, you could… its not like we couldn't contact you if something big happened." Willow told her.

            "I know Will, I know… I'm still not sure… guess I'll have to see what this place is like." She nudged Harry. "I guess we should probably get some sleep if we're waking up in the middle of the night."

            "Yeah." He grinned, holding back bed hair comments.

            "Aww… Buffy!" Willow squealed, "Gonna miss you sooo much!!" She threw herself at Buffy, hugging her tight.

            "So you wouldn't mind if I stayed, huh?" Buffy laughed.

            "You know how Willow is with goodbyes." Xander said, "She misses Harmony for gods sake." Buffy smiled at him,

            "See ya Xand." Buffy said. They too hugged.

            "Bye." Oz said with a short wave, and_ almost_ a smile. Buffy chuckled, and swept him into a hug.

            "Bye Oz." She said. Then there was just Giles left. While Harry said goodbye to the scoobies, Buffy and Giles stood a couple of feet apart, neither one knowing exactly what to say. Then Buffy just rolled her eyes and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around his slayer, and said,

            "Be careful, ok?"

            "Yup." Buffy said, pulling away, "No running with scissors, no playing with fire… unless killing vamps, of course…"

            "Buffy…"

            "I know, seriously, I'll be fine, Giles. Thank you."

            "For…?"

            "Everything. I don't know if I coulda gotten through the last few months without you." Buffy said seriously.

            "Oh you'd have been fine." Giles replied, blushing slightly and cleaning his glasses. Buffy chuckled.

            "All done?" She asked Harry.

            "Yep."

            "Bye guys." Buffy said to the group as a whole. "I'll find some way to contact you when we get there."

Willow nodded fervently,

            "You gotta tell us _everything!_"

            "Don't drink too much tea!" Xander advised.

            "I wont." Buffy promised. They all left, giving strange bits of advice, many of which Harry didn't understand, like 'watch out for any teachers who can spin their heads round!', 'If the minister of magic looks at all snake-like, call us!" and, "If a mummy boy tries to kiss you, it's not cos he wants to date!"

            Buffy closed the door, and leant against it, sighing.

            "Bed then." She said. "I'll wake you at 3.30."

            "Cool." Harry agreed, and they went upstairs.

At 3.30 on the dot, Harry was shaken awake by Buffy, who had a towel wrapped round her head which (creepily) reminded Harry of Quirrel's turban in the first year (except it was fluffy, pink, and didn't smell of garlic).

"Wakey wakey." She whispered. "You want anything to eat?"

"Na… if I know the Weasleys, we'll have plenty to eat in an hour or so." He replied. "Oh, and Buffy?"

"Uh-huh?"

"Why are we whispering?"

"Oh." Buffy frowned, then in her ordinary voice, "I don't know." Harry grinned, and got up while Buffy went to finish doing her hair.

Twenty-five minutes later, the two siblings were checking they had all their stuff in the trunks and bags around them, and were working out how to hold them all at once. Eventually, Buffy threaded a piece of string through all the handles, and they held onto that and, of course, the precious hardboiled egg.

"Here goes." Buffy said, as her watch showed the last few seconds before four. "3, 2, 1…" The familiar sensation of an activated port key grabbed them both, and the house around them disappeared.

-----

I know, I know, that's mean… Ha ha! It's fun! :D sorry. Please review!! Shall I give you a peek? Cos I was mean? …hmm…. Lemme see….

Aha!

Half way down the hill, Harry grinning at the nearing sight of the tall, wonky house, there was a loud POP! And Buffy screamed.

Ha ha ha.

A little more? 

_He gasped. "How?" Though his voice was not loud, his tone of amazement got the attention of everyone present, especially Harry, on Buffy's other side._

_            "How what?" Buffy gulped, trying to sound innocent._

            "You are James daughter." He said simply, "You are James and Lily Potter's daughter."

Ok, now you so can't complain. I gave you loads extra!! So please review, I'll update soon. (if I survive school)


	14. Meet the family

Hee hee. I love cliffies… except when other people do them- that sucks. So… I like _writing_ cliffies! Thanks for all the reviews! I say again, you people rule!!

Becks89- IM UPDATING!! Ha ha, you've already read this one, and NO you can't have the next one!!

Wild320- I'm still not entirely sure what Buffy will do at Hogwarts, just bare with me. As for Snape- I guarantee clashage. Its just so much fun to do!!

c.s- Whoa! Sorry if my answer sounded offended, wasn't meant to!! No offense taken at all!!

ScruffyWes- I don't think Wes will make an appearance. This is right after season 3, so he isn't even in Sunnydale.

As usual, you must all go read stories by Becks89, witchlight, shooting star19 cos they're my friends, and their stories are very cool. 

So on with the chapter!

Chapter 14- Meet the family 

            When the world re-materialised, Buffy and Harry were standing on the side of a hill. Buffy looked around,

            "Huh?" She asked. But Harry was smiling broadly.

            "We're on the hill behind the Burrow. Where no muggles are likely to see us, and we have a moment to get ourselves together before we reach the Weasleys."

            "Oh. Cool." Buffy said. She patted her hair. Harry rolled his eyes,

            "It's fine. You look good." He told her sincerely.

            "Ok. Ok." Buffy took a deep breath, and they each picked up some bags, Harry lightening his load by releasing Hedwig, and not complaining when Buffy insisted on taking his trunk on he basis that she could actually carry it. Half way down the hill, Harry grinning at the nearing sight of the tall, wonky house, there was a loud POP! And Buffy screamed. Harry burst out laughing. There was a tall red haired boy standing there, grinning widely.

            "Harry, mate!" He cried. Harry dropped his luggage, and they hugged briefly, patting each other on the back. Buffy looked less than pleased.

            "Buffy, this is Ron." Harry said, still chuckling. Ron turned his eyes to Buffy, and they widened.

            "Hi." He managed.

            "Hi." She snapped. A quieter pop heralded Hermione's appearance a little way away at the garden gate. She had her arms crossed. Harry grinned.

            "So you guys got your apparating licenses then?" Harry asked enviously as they continued down, Ron taking some bags.

            "Yep, just last week, Dad sorted it right after my birthday. Hermione did the test at the same time- Dad sorted it for her too…Oh, Mate its brilliant! Pig goes nuts every time I do it."

Harry laughed.

"Great. Erm… Is 'mione ok?"

            "Yeah… she's just… well, she is still taking the whole slayer thing kinda hard." Ron replied with a wince. 

            "Humph." Buffy said loudly from behind them.

            "Is she ok?" Ron whispered.

            "Yeah… she's just nervous, I think she's pissed that your first impression of her was her screaming!"

            "_She_ is just fine." Buffy said in Harry's ear. He jumped, and that seemed to cheer Buffy right up. When they got within twenty metres, Hermione just couldn't help herself, she jogged up to them,

            "Hi Harry." She said, trying not to look at the slight Blonde behind him.

            "Hey Hermione." He replied. They hugged, and Hermione too took a bag. "This is Buffy."

            "I guessed." Hermione replied, sucking in a controlling breath. "So… _you're_ the slayer?" she asked.

            "Yep." Buffy answer happily. Hermione just raised her eyebrows, and kept walking. Ron and Harry shared a knowing look, and Buffy prepared herself for meeting the rest of the family.

            The moment they stepped through the door, the twins cried,

            "Heya Harry!" In perfect unison, and bowed low to Buffy, "Miss Summers." They said respectfully. 

            "Oh lord…" Ron sighed. Buffy chuckled, not sure what else to do.

            "Hi." Harry said.

            "I had to threaten them with no dinner to keep them inside." Mrs Weasley said from the doorway. "Harry dear, how good to see you again. And Miss Summers, welcome to our home."

            "Thanks." Buffy replied. She had gone from being nervous to totally overwhelmed- they were all so nice to her! (except Hermione, but she hadn't expected more.)

            "Ron, show them where they're sleeping. Fred, George, take their bags." Mrs Weasley ordered.

            "Its really ok…" Buffy protested, but to no avail. The bags in her hands lifted of their own accord and followed the twin from the room. "Right then…" Buffy murmured. She smiled again at Mrs Weasley, before being sheparded from the room by her brother. 

            On the stairs, Ron told her,

            "You're in Percy's old room, since the git still refuses to come home."

            "But… even Fudge admits that Voldemort is back!" Harry cried. Ron winced, but nodded,

            "What can I say? He's a pratt. Harry, you're in with me." Ron showed Buffy her room, where her luggage was all neatly piled by a squashy looking bed.

            "See you in a minute." Harry said. She nodded, and went in. The window gave a glorious view out across the small village. There was a wardrobe, a small desk and chair, a large mirror and the bed, with a couple of towels folded on it. The room was simple, but lovely. Buffy grinned, and checked her hair in the mirror. To her astonishment, the mirror said,

            "Oooh, a guest! You look wonderful, dearie."

            "Er… thanks." Buffy said.

            "Definitely an improvement on that ugly old bore. Y'know for year he used me to admire prefect badges and such like? Moron."

            "Oh." Buffy replied, swallowing.

            "Don't worry, you'll get used to it quickly." Said a voice from the door. Buffy turned to see Hermione leaning gently against the doorframe.

            "Hermione, right?" Buffy checked.

            "Yes. Good to finally meet you." She said stiffly. Buffy sighed,

            "Look… I know you don't believe that I'm the slayer, but I swear it's the truth, and I would _never_ hurt Harry."

            "I…" Hermione frowned, returning Buffy's gaze right into her green eyes. She shook her self, breaking the contact. "I know Dumbledore and Harry both trust you, so that gives you something… As for you being the slayer, we shall just have to see, wont we?"

            "Yeah, I guess we will." Buffy said a little sullenly. Again Hermione faltered. She slowly walked into the room, and Buffy moved to sit on the bed, showing that she was comfortable with this.

            "There's something I don't understand." Hermione said in a voice that reminded Buffy awfully of Willow when she was trying to work something out the rest of them didn't understand. "See, Dumbledore said that Harry would only be safe while living with his family- with blood relatives of his mother. Surely even being with the _slayer_ isn't a good enough reason to disregard that?"

Buffy, shrugged, now not meeting Hermione's eyes.

            "Dumbledore must have had his reasons, right?"

            "Yes." Hermione said. She kept looking at Buffy oddly, as if desperately trying to find something that would answer the questions. Suddenly she sighed. "Well… I'm going to see Harry. You coming?"

            "Sure." Buffy agreed, glad that the third degree was over.

            The two girls entered the room to find Harry, Ron and the twins all talking. The twins grinned,

            "Miss Summers." Fred said in an overly posh voice, "I don't believe we were properly introduced."

            "I am George Weasley."

            "And I am Fred. Proprietors of Weasley's Wizarding Weezes."

            "Cool. I'm Buffy. _Please_ cut the 'Miss Summers' crap." Buffy replied, considerable more relaxed now that Hermione seemed less hostile. This single statement thrilled the twins. They both grinned widely.

            "Great." Fred said in his normal voice, "Welcome to the Burrow, Buff." Buffy chuckled, not missing his double meaning.

            "Your room ok? It's might stink a little after all those years of Percy." George said.

            "It's Great." Buffy chuckled, liking them both immediately.

            "When are the others getting here?" Hermione asked Ron.

            "Dunno… soon, I guess."

            "Others?" Harry asked.

            "Yeah, a load of the order is coming for lunch. They're desperate to meet the famous slayer." He grinned at Buffy, who blushed.

            "Y'know, I'd have thought the slayer would be, sorta…" Fred trailed off thoughtfully, scrutinising Buffy.

            "Bigger." George finished. Buffy gasped in mock insult. Harry laughed out loud, loving it.

            "The best things come in small packages." Buffy said, regretting it a second later. Thankfully, a shout from down stairs called the widely grinning twins away. "Great. Good start." Buffy moaned, looking to Harry for support.

            "You'll get used to them too." Hermione said. 

            "Just don't eat _any_ food they offer you." Ron advised.

            "Yeah, I saw the effect of Weasley biscuits on Xander." Buffy replied. Harry laughed again,

            "Canary cream." He exclaimed. Ron grinned,

            "Canary creams are nothing anymore! Did you try any others?"

            "I wasn't in the mood for puking and nosebleeds thanks." Harry answered.

            "Oh I didn't send you any of those! They've got ones that make your hair flash all different colours, ones that make everything taste like ice cream for days…"

            "And similar ones for coal and vomit." Hermione added.

            "Ew." Buffy exclaimed.

            "Precisely."

            "Lunch time everyone!" George shouted above his own pop before disapparating again.

            "Can't you people just walk!?" Buffy asked.

            "Apparating's way more fun." Ron said. "Harry, you should try to get your license before school."

            "Yeah… how?" They discussed the various ways, getting Ron very confused at Buffy's suggestion of registering online, all the way downstairs. At the bottom of the stairs, Buffy paused. Show time.

            Ron lead the way into the kitchen, followed by Harry, Buffy and Hermione behind. A large crowd of people greeted them. Buffy looked round nervously. There was Mrs Weasley, then a man beside her she presumed was Mr Weasley, then a tall, scarey looking guy with a freaky eye who could only be Moody, then a young looking woman with fluorescent green hair and incredible blue eyes, Tonks, Buffy guessed. Next was a tall, thin man with baggy, worn robes, who gave Buffy the strangest feeling that reminded her of Oz… Buffy smiled, that must be Lupin. Beside Lupin stood a tall young man with short, slightly scorched but never the less bright red hair, and another with long red hair and an earring- they _had_ to be Charlie and Bill.  Finally, beside the eldest Weasley sons was a red haired girl who Buffy presumed was Ginny. There was a brief pause when the teens came in, while everyone wondered who should go first. But then Mr Weasley stepped forward, and nodding to Harry, shook Buffy's hand firmly,

            "It's such a pleasure to meet you, Miss Summers." He said,

            "Thank you for having me!" She replied, "And, it's just Buffy."

            "Buffy, then." Mr Weasley corrected himself. "Well, may I introduce Alistair Moody, Tonks, Remus Lupin, Charlie and Bill my eldest sons, and Ginny, my daughter." They all said hi, and Buffy felt an odd swell of pride at guessing right. She especially made sure to smile at Ginny, seeing that she looked a little timid.

            "Do sit down, do sit down!" Mrs Weasley cried, showing everyone out of the back door to where two tables had been placed together on the lawn, and a huge spread of food laid out. Harry grinned at Buffy- an 'I told you so' look. She nodded, and they took their places next to each other. As the adults gathered round one end, and the younger half around the other, Buffy, next to her brother, ended up near the centre of one side, next to Lupin and roughly opposite the twins. As everyone began to tuck in, talking and laughing, Buffy felt warmed- Harry had been right, she _would_ be ok. During the meal, Lupin turned to talk to her.

            "I was fascinated to here Harry was acquainted with the slayer." He said. Buffy blushed, and he chuckled, "Sorry, I don't mean to embarrass you. Let me explain- I'm somewhat of a dark arts buff. I taught briefly at Hogwarts," He smiled oddly, "And I have of course, know for along time that Slayers were no myth… however I never had the honour of meeting one."

            "Honour? Wow." Buffy grinned, "All this respect will be down the drain in an hour tops, I promise you." She assured him. Lupin smiled,

            "I doubt that, Miss Summers."

            "Buffy." She corrected. 

            "Sorry. So… how long have you been the slayer?"

            "Nearly four years." She replied.

            "Impressive."

            "Yeah… that's kinda depressing, huh? That four years is considered impressive?"

            "Yes, I suppose it is…" Lupin agreed. He was looking at her oddly.

            "What?" Buffy asked.

            "I apologise, I'm being rude… You just remind me so much of an old friend. Your mannerisms, you attitude, even your face to some extent. In fact, the friend I speak of was Harry's father." Buffy froze, her fork clanging on the plate, as she prayed Lupin had not followed through on his own connection. Too late. Lupin was gaping at her… "And Lily's eyes." He gasped. "How?" Though his voice was not loud, his tone of amazement got the attention of everyone present, especially Harry on Buffy's other side.

            "How what?" Buffy gulped, trying to sound innocent.

            "You are James's daughter." He said simply, "You are James and Lily Potter's daughter."

-------

Mwahahahahahaha. Sorry, I couldn't resist. I hope my meetings lived up to your expectations. More fun Weasley/Potter interaction coming up, I'll update as soon as possible. Review please!


	15. She's a potter

Hey people, have I mentioned that you rock!?

I can't believe how many reviews you guys have given me!! Its so incredibly COOL! *grins*.

Magicscales- sorry about that. Alastor, not Alistair. I did know that… :D I'll make sure its right from now on. Thanx

Wild320- I don't have the whole thing planned out yet, so not sure about apocalypses.

Kailie Melcher- only Petunia knew Buffy was born.

Everyone who asked about Buffy pairings, ive said it before and ill say it again- you'll have to wait an see!! ;)

Hope no one actually went mad, and very glad no one _actually_ managed to throttle me as they indicated. *grins* sorry, I love writing cliff hangers, anyone who writes will know how much fun it is!

So on with the story! :D

Chapter 15- She's a Potter 

_Previously:_

            Lupin was gaping at her… "And Lily's eyes." He gasped. "How?" Though his voice was not loud, his tone of amazement got the attention of everyone present, especially Harry on Buffy's other side.

_            "How what?" Buffy gulped, trying to sound innocent._

_            "You are James daughter." He said simply, "You are James and Lily Potter's daughter."_

            There was utter silence while everyone just gaped. Eventually, Mr Weasley spluttered,

            "What on earth do you mean, Remus? The Potter's had no other children." Lupin nodded, not looking away from Buffy,

            "I know… but just look at her… she has Lily's eyes, and can't you see James in her?"

At this stage, Fred leant across the table to Harry, 

            "Your dad musta been a bit effeminate, eh?" He whispered. Harry chuckled, which broke the ice a little.

            "It's true." He said to the whole table, "Buffy is my sister."

They all gasped and cried out, and made wonderful facial expressions, just as Harry had hoped.

            "Bloody hell, Mate!" Ron exclaimed, "How did you just happen to forget to mention that!?"

Harry laughed,

            "We were gonna tell you guys today- I wanted to see your faces." It really had been worth the wait. 

            "So… so… she's not the slayer then? Dumbledore sent you to her because she's your sister?" Hermione asked hopefully.

            "No, no…" Harry said, "She's _also_ the slayer."

            "Oh." Hermione said, though she didn't sound as if that made it any clearer. Her eyes were wide and shocked, like everyone else's.

Lupin cracked a grin,

            "What a family!" He cried, "James would be so proud. A slayer, and… well, Harry."

They all laughed, while still gaping at the siblings.

            "I don't understand." Molly said, "How could we not know that Lily had another child _before_ Harry?"

Now it was Buffy's turn.

            "No one knew." She said quietly, "Not even Dumbledore. In fact, the only person who did who was Aunt Petunia, but our mother had sworn her to secrecy. Our parents were still in school when I was born. They used spells to conceal the pregnancy, and gave me up for adoption."

            "Oh my dear!" Mrs Weasley cried.

            "They used Muggle services so that no one would find out." Hermione said thoughtfully.      

            "Bingo." Buffy agreed. "I had no idea that I was even adopted, let alone a potential witch, until a month ago."

            "Why then?" Tonks asked, knowing immediately from Harry and Buffy's faces that it was a difficult subject.

            "Because my muggle mother died." Buffy replied ("Oh!" Mrs Weasley cried in distress.) "My _dad_ had left us years ago, so I had to go through stuff. I realised I was adopted, looked up my real parents through the adoption agency… which lead me to Harry. My lil' bro'." She smiled at him.

            "And our uncle." Harry added flatly. Those who knew the man laughed.

            "Finding out he was a wizard must have been a bit of a shock." Charlie said.

            "A little. It was more that I was surprised he knew about magic, cos of course I know about wicca and demons and stuff…"

            "I told her magic was real when I'd figured she wasn't a witch, and she didn't even flinch… that's when _I_ got confused." Harry put in. More laughter. Everyone could see that the siblings fitted perfectly. They told the group about explaining to Dumbledore and going to Sunnydale, and Buffy had a short rant about the council stopping her being a witch. ('stupid poncey watchers' Moody growled.)

            "It makes sense." Hermione finally said, "Harry being with you fulfilled all Dumbledore's criteria… You are family, so his spells would work, plus you could protect Harry with your slayer abilities…"

            "Does that mean you accept that I'm the slayer?" Buffy asked with a grin. Hermione's eyes widened,

            "Not necessarily… I mean… in theory…."

            "Give it up, 'Mione." Ron groaned.

            "But… all the books…" she whined.

            "I have a book you need to borrow." Harry said. Ron looked at him incredulously.

            "A book!? Mate! You're not meant to encourage her!" This earned him a slap around the back of his head from Hermione, and laughs from the rest. Buffy smiled. She had been accepted. All that worry, and they just believed her, just like that. True Moody still gave her odd glances how and then, but his respect for the position of a slayer kept his doubts at bay.

            The next morning, Buffy awoke early and just couldn't force herself back to sleep. So she tiptoed from the house and ran several times around the hill at the back. When the house came back into view for the fourth time, Buffy saw someone standing at the back gate. The red hair was unmistakable even from a distance, and as she got closer, she saw that it was one of the twins, wearing a green jumper with a large letter 'G' on it. She smiled as he called 'good morning' and jogged over to him.

            "Morning." She replied. He frowned,

            "What on earth are you doing voluntarily exercising at this time of morning?"

Buffy chuckled.

            "Part of the problem of being the slayer." She said, "And I couldn't sleep."

            "Ahh." He said knowingly. "Percy's stench?"

            "No." She grinned, "I just couldn't. I guess my body clock is totally screwed."

            "I know what you mean… no… actually… no. I haven't ever gone from California to England in a few seconds… sorry, cant help you."

Buffy laughed again. She like the twins because she could tell that despite acting like idiots a large amount of the time, there was much more to them.

            "So why are _you_ up so early?"

            "Percy's stench." He replied, then grinned, "Na… Fred snores like crazy. You'd have thought I'd have gotten used to it over eighteen years, huh?"

            "Yeah." Buffy said. They were silent for a moment, after which George's voice came out quietly, and much more serious.

            "It's gotta be hard." He said.

            "Huh?"

            "Y'know, being the slayer. Just suddenly being told that you're the chosen one, and whether you like it or not you have to fight, and eventually die at the hands of demons and vampires."

            "Nice way to put it." 

            "Isn't it the truth?" He asked. Buffy smiled sadly,

            "I guess it sorta is…" She sighed, "When I was first told, I didn't want it. I said thanks but no thanks… but when stuff started to happen, I had no choice… people died… god I hated it!"

            "Damn." George said quietly, but he couldn't help himself, "So what happened?"

Buffy chuckled, 

            "I burned down the school gym and got expelled." She replied simply. "Moved to Sunnydale to start afresh." She snorted a laugh. "Problem being that Sunnydale is on a hellmouth."

            "Serious? Cool. We did about hellmouths in seventh year… one of the few things I listened to… meant to be swarming with dark creatures, right?"

            "Demons, yeah. My first day of school someone finds a dead guy in a gym locker, all his blood drained- I was pissed. My new watcher was there waiting for me and gave me all the chosen one spiel again." She shook her head, "From there… everything went ka-blooey in my face."

            "Really?" George asked, close to laughing at her invented words. Buffy chuckled,

            "Yeah. The two people I'd sorta made any kind of connection with found out, also on my first day. _A lot_ of shit happened. I guess I realised that if I didn't fight it, no one would."

            "Harsh."

            "It's the truth… or maybe people would try, but they would die trying… I suppose it comes down to me being the slayer, the friggin chosen one. I have to do it."

            "So, if you had the chance, you'd give it up? Pass it on?" George asked curiously. Buffy thought for a moment, biting her lip, before cracking an ironic smile,

            "No. I wouldn't. Now I got it… I could never give it up. I wouldn't be able to just stand by, y'know?"

            "I get that." George smiled.

            "So… enough of my incredibly depressing life story- what's your deal?"

            "My 'deal'?"

            "Yeah." Buffy replied as if it were the simplest question ever. George sighed,

            "Ok…" He tried to think of something impressive, "Oh! I flew out of school on a broom last year. Me an' Fred- we had this batt of a headmistress for a while…"

            "Umbridge, right?" Buffy confirmed.

            "Harry told you?" George said a little deflated.

            "Yeah… oh, but your bit's my favourite." Buffy finished quickly, "Tell me again."

George grinned,

            "Right, so we'd just had enough, right? So we're in the entrance hall, and everyone was watching, and she starts yelling at us, and we just grab our brooms, and take off, and she couldn't do a damn thing! We just flew away… I reckon we'll go down in Hogwarts history!"

Buffy laughed, but felt a little out done on excitement stakes.

            "I blew up my highschool." She said offhandly.

            "Seriously!?" He exclaimed.

            Harry and Ron woke up almost an hour later, and staggered down the stairs to find that most of the others were still in bed. They'd started getting some breakfast, when Fred came down frowning.

            "Where's George?" He asked.

            "Dunno." Ron replied. Harry shrugged. It was by chance that Ron glanced out of the window. "What the…?" He said. The three went out of the back door to catch the end of Buffy's blow by blow account of the parent teacher night the year before.

            "That's nothing!" George was saying, "We wrecked a toilet, and sent the seat to Harry." Buffy laughed aloud, "And we've nicked more food from the kitchens than the rest of the school combined."

            "Cos that's so hard." Ron murmured. Buffy and George jumped.

            "Oh… Hi guys." Buffy said.

            "What are you doing out here?" Fred asked, yawning.

            "I was running." Buffy shrugged.

            "I couldn't sleep cos _someone_ was snoring like a bloody cave troll."

            "So you ended up comparing school damage?" Ron frowned.

            "Oh Buffy wins." Harry scoffed.

            "How the hell did ya work that out!?" Fred cried indignantly, though George was grinning. Ron nodded his agreement,

            "Harry, these two have wrecked a hell of a lot…"

            "Buffy burned down a school gym…"

            "So…?"

            "And blew up the next one." Harry finished.

            "Blew it up? She blew up the school gym?" Fred said. Buffy grinned proudly,

            "Nope, the whole school, and I got my whole class to wage war on a big demony mayor."

            "She wins." Ron said, stunned. Harry and Buffy bumped fists in triumph.

----

There we go, no cliffie. *sob* hope u like, please review!!


	16. Wizarding fun!

Heya people!! Thanks yet again for all your reviews, anyone who knows me knows how much I love them- I swear, I tell everyone how many I get each day. I know, lame, but hey, I love to hear what you guys think, and it's twice as good when you seem to really like it!!

SO, my wonderful loyal readers, I need to ask you a question concerning a possible plot for part of this story. Would it be way too 'long lost relative-y' if another Buffy character (I'm not telling you who, so don't ask!!) turned out to be a wizard/witch, probably distantly related to an HP character. Not brother or sister or daughter or son or anything like that, it would be distant, but what do you think? I know some of you have said you don't particularly like long lost relative stories… this wouldn't be major, but I think it could work… but anyway! Please tell me what you think!

C.S, Wild320, and anyone else who asked about Buffy pairings, You will see soon enough! :D *grins*

Becks89- you're a poo, you didn't review. :P Hee hee it rhymes!

Sorry, I've been a bit hyper today, for the WIERDEST reasons. Something to do with my friend's not-boyfriend, and standard deviation…

All go read witchlight, shooting star19, and Becks89's stories!! (but don't review becks cos shes mean and didn't review mine even tho she moans when I don't review hers!! :P )

Now, no more blabbering, on with the chap:

Chapter16- wizarding fun

            After breakfast, which impressed Buffy even more than the meal the night before, the teenagers gathered on the grass outside under the  (as it sometime IS in England) blazing summer sun. Hermione and Ginny were chatting about letters the younger girl had gotten from her new boyfriend, Dean Thomas. Buffy saw that just as Harry had said, this infuriated Ron.

            "He's just soo sweet!" Ginny was saying, while Ron audibly ground his teeth. "He said that the first Hogsmeade weekend he's gonna take me out for lunch."

            "Oh Gin," Fred sighed, "That's pathetic. Get him to go to the kitchens, that way you can have a picnic on the top of the North tower. _Much_ more romantic."

            "What the hell do you know about romance!?" Ron cried.

            "More than you might think, little Ronnikins." He replied cryptically.

            "You sort out that stuff with Cho, Harry?" George asked. Buffy's eyebrows flew high,

            "What stuff? Why did I not hear about this!?" She asked. Harry rolled his eyes,

            "It's nothing, we went out once and she burst into tears for no reason and stormed out. Now she's with Ginny's old boyfriend."

            "She's going out with the reject of a girl two years younger than her?" Fred laughed.

            "This 'Cho' was a year older than you?" Buffy said grinning, "Ooh, Harry, older women." She nudged him while the others fell about laughing.

            "Oh like you can talk!" Harry exclaimed. "How much older was Angel?" Buffy blushed furiously. George cut in,

            "_Angel?_ This _was_ a guy, right?"

            "Yes!" Buffy cried.

            "Bit of a feminine name." Hermione scoffed.

            "Well _he_ isn't at all feminine." Buffy argued. Both Hermione and Ginny saw the look in her eyes when she said it, and grinned cheekily. 

            "Who was he? What was he like?" Hermione asked. Ok, so it was a bit mean, but she still didn't like Buffy all that much, even if it was mostly because she had quashed her faith in books.

            "He was…" Buffy didn't know what to say. She sighed, realising that after such pause, a lie would be obvious. "He's a vampire." She said.

            "What!?" The Weasleys and Hermione shrieked. 

            "But he has a soul!" She added, "He's a good vampire."

            "A good vampire? I've never heard of such a thing." Hermione said.

            "No one had. He was cursed with it by gypsies."

            "Gypsies… why'd they curse him?"

            "About a hundred years ago, when he was evil…" Buffy began without thinking.

            "A hundred years!?" Fred cried. "Damn, Harry was right, you really can't talk about older partners."

Buffy dropped her head back, looking up to the sky with a groan- what a great start.

            "It's not like that though… he looks a year, maybe two older than me."

            "Wiggy." Ginny murmured. Buffy shrugged,

            "He's amazing." That far away look returned, but as Hermione watched, she saw the eye shine that signalled the approach of tears. The slayer turned away for a moment, regaining her control, "Anyway, he left a couple of months ago… our relationship wasn't really going anywhere, y'know, with the whole sunlight issue, not to mention the fact that when I'm a wrinkly old granny he'll look no different… it wouldn'ta worked." She shrugged it off casually. "Anyone wanna rival my shitty relationship skills?" She laughed.

            "Well Ron's never _had_ a girlfriend." Fred said comfortingly.

            "Hey!" Ron cried. "I've had a date."

            "Yeah, lets see… Harry asked her out for you cos you'd run out of time to get dates for the ball… and you didn't dance with her and ignored her all night. Wicked date, Ron." Fred retorted.

            "Well… I had other things on my mind." Ron snapped. His brothers laughed and rolled their eyes, blowing it off as a lame excuse. Buffy however, watched him more closely.

            "Shit." She gasped. Laughing, the others didn't hear her, but Harry frowned,            "What?"

            "Er, nothing, I realised I forgot a necklace I was gonna bring." She covered quickly.

            "So, Buffy, you're not with anyone right now then?" George asked, grinning.

            "No." Buffy replied with a smile. "I'm not."

            "There ya go Ronnikins." Fred joked. 

            "Urgh!" Everyone cried.

            "Sorry, Ron, but I don't do younger men." Buffy said mockingly sympathetic. By now his face matched his hair.

            "No offence mate." George laughed, slapping him on the back.

            "You still with Krum, 'Mione?" Fred now asked.

            "No." Hermione replied, sighing. "We agreed that it was too complicated over such a distance."

            "Hermione was going out with a world famous quidditch player who Harry played against in the triwizard tournament a couple of years ago." Ginny explained.

            "And Harry beat 'im." Ron added.

            "-Because I was helped by an evil bastard leading me to a trap laid by Voldemort." He and Buffy were the only ones who didn't flinch, even though Hermione had begun saying the name last year.

            "You'd have won anyway." Buffy said, "Potters rule." She soon realised that was a dangerous thing to say in a group mainly comprised of Weasleys.

            "Only one way to settle that." George grinned.

            "Quidditch." Fred agreed.

            "Oh dear, what a pity I don't know how to play." Buffy said sarcastically. Many jaws dropped.

            "You don't know how to play quidditch?" Fred gasped.

            "Harry, how can you not have told her!?" Ron exclaimed.

            "I did!" Harry said in his own defence.

            "Right, that's it, quidditch lesson." George said.

            "No no no. I'll keep my feet on the ground thanks." Buffy said, her voice getting high and panicky.

            "Not a chance." Harry grinned. George and Harry forcebly hauled Buffy of the ground despite her protests. 

            "We'll get brooms." Ron said. He and Fred ran inside, while Harry began dragging his sister up the hill.

            "No!" She yelled, laughing. "Lemme go!"

            "_You're_ the slayer, make me!" Harry taunted. She grinned, and Harry groaned. Why did he have to say that? Buffy twisted, bending his arm behind him, but not high enough to hurt him.

            "Ok." She said in his ear, and pushed him down, so he fell over. She laughed, stepping backwards. George grabbed her from behind, wrapping his arms right around her and trapping her arms. "Hey!" She wailed. Harry, avoiding kicks, picked up her feet and they carried her up the hill. Hermione and Ginny were rolling about the grass in hysterics. 

            When Ron and Fred returned, they found Buffy lying at the top of the hill, Harry sitting on her stomach, George on her legs. Her arms were crossed over her chest.

            "So she's really excited then?" Fred laughed.

            "Yeah, can't wait." Harry said.

            "Get of me, _now_." Buffy growled. "Or you will _so_ regret it."

Harry grinned at her. He took his Firebolt from Ron, and stood up quickly, leaping onto his broom and hovering a few feet in the air.

            "Thanks, mate." George groaned. Buffy sat up, knocking George off and pushing him down the hill. He stopped his roll, and turned to look at her,

            "Quidditch then." He said, propping himself up on his elbows.

            "Fine." Buffy snapped, "I'll just have to _prove_ that Potters rock by being better than all of you."

            "Yeah." Harry agreed from his floating broom.

            "Don't you think you're getting off." Buffy scolded with a grin. "I'm gonna bide my time." She arched her fingers together, movie bad guy style.

            "Hey… hang on… I'm already biding my time from before," Harry said thoughtfully. "Can't we just call it quits?"

Buffy pouted, realising he was right.

            "Hm. Maybe. I'll have to see." She grinned cruelly. Harry took his broom a little higher,

            "It ok with you guys if I just stay up here?" He asked. They laughed.

            "Right, so you were gonna teach me to fly?" Buffy said enthusiastically.

            "Yep." George replied, grinning at Harry.

            "Crap." Harry said.       

            "Seriously." George said, standing up and passing a broom to Buffy. "Ok… I guess to start with, you should lay it on the ground beside you, beneath your dominant hand.

            "Ok…" Buffy laid the broom down on her right.

            "Now, you hold your hand out over it, and say 'up'." Fred instructed. Harry leant forward on his broom, chin resting on his hands to watch closer. Buffy took a deep breath, realising that this was it. Right now was the moment that she would find out for sure if she was a witch or not. Sure her parents had been, and Harry was, but he'd told her about squibs… _what if nothing happens!?_ She thought. She shook her head clear of the thought, and said firmly,

            "Up." The broom flew up into her hand immediately, slapping up into her palm so fast it gave her a jolt. "Well _that_ worked." She murmured.

            "Woohoo. You're magical." Harry said, though he had never doubted it. Buffy grinned,

            "Yeah, guess I am."

            "And the broom responding so quickly like that- it's a good sign." George said.

            "Cool. What next?" Buffy asked, genuinely excited now. Fred grimaced, knowing that however he said this it would sound dodgy.

            "You mount it." He said quickly. Incredibly, there were no weird looks. Buffy was so into it that she just did as she was told. George didn't seem to notice either- he was watching Buffy. 

            "Here…" George said, coming to stand beside her, "You hands need to be more like this." He moved her hands to the right position. As he took his hands away, his fingers brushed the back of her hand, and their eyes met. George swallowed. Buffy broke the contact, looking down at her hands and shifting them to make it more comfortable while keeping the same positioning.  
            "What next?" She asked in a slightly shaky voice, though no one noticed.

            "Right. You pull the end of the broom up gently. When you're a few feet up, flattened it down again and you should just hover."

            "Ok." Buffy breathed. She tentatively pulled the broom handle up, and felt the magical lift carry her up. As she was told, she pushed down again, and levelled off. "Cool." She said grinning.

            "That's the basics then." Fred told her. "To go up, you pull up, down you push down, forwards… it harder to explain. You lean forward… but you have to sort of tell it to go… it's weird… hard to explain til you do it."

            "Ok. Up." Buffy went higher. "And down," She came back down. "Now…" She leant carefully forwards, and suddenly knew what to do. She looked down the length of the broom, and urged it forwards. The broom did as she commanded. She floated forwards, not too fast, not jerky and slow, just smooth. She flew round in a couple of circles, grinning widely. Harry whooped,

            "Go Buffy!" He cried.

            "I can fly, I can fly, I can fly." Buffy chanted.

            "Come on then." George said. He grabbed his broom, and took off, Fred right behind him, followed by Ron and Ginny too. Only Hermione stayed on the ground- She'd never much liked flying.

            "Two teams… Potters and Ginny against us an' Ron." Fred said.

            "Ok then, you're on." Harry said.

            "Erm… Harry, I don't know that that's a good idea." Buffy protested. 

            "Don't worry, you'll be fine." He insisted. The two teams faced each other after marking out goal hoops with levitated sweaters. Hermione threw up a football, and the little game began.

----

There we go. Please review, and tell me what you think about the buffy character/witch or wizard thing!!

-Sam


	17. Acceptance

Heya everyone!! *grins* I love you guys so much! 400!! Wow.

Ok-

-Prophetess of Hearts- yeah, I meant football as in soccer, sorry, English. 

-For everyone who pointed it out- the 'I can fly' thing wasn't meant to be from Peter Pan!! But oh well, not like it matters.

-DragonKatGal- lol, sorry about using George/Buffy!! Looking forward to reading yours though!

As for my long lost relative thingy- I think I will do it, cos most of you seem fine with it, and I've been thinking things over, and I've thought up some bits I just have to write now!! However, the only clue I'm giving is that it's NOT gonna be willow, don't worry. The Willow Weasley thing is mega cliché by now. 

Silver Warrior- have you really never seen a Willow Weasley story? Try 'The Eighth Weasley' by Fyrie.

Sorry to that certain friend hu got irritated that I mentioned sumthing about her, even though no one else knows what I meant, but still!! *grins* Sorry hun.

Now on with the new chapter- it's a little short, but I got to a stopping point y'know?

Chapter 17- Acceptance 

At first, Buffy was terrified. How was she supposed to do this? Against three (ex)Gryffindor quidditch team members? Another part of her was grinning. We are gonna win. It told her. This was the part of her that being with Faith had always bought out- the part that she had revelled in so very rarely. So maybe breaking and entering wasn't the right way to do it… what if, for Buffy, quidditch was? So Buffy concentrated. She soon got used to controlling the broom, and within minutes it was turning and swooping as she thought it. 

            Fred was racing up the tiny pitch with the 'quaffle' tucked under one arm. Buffy urged her broom to accelerate, coming parallel with the boy. She controlled the instinct to do the most obvious thing and punch his lights out, and instead gave the ball an almighty thump from underneath. It popped out of Fred's grasp, and to her own surprise as much as anyone else's, Buffy had rolled beneath him to catch the ball on the other side. 

            "Hell yeah!" Ginny whooped. Buffy grinned wildly. She turned, heading back to try to score. George was darting back and forth, blocking her path. Buffy gained a mischievous smile. She flew straight at him. The boy was so shocked at the insanity of the move that he dodged right away without considering it, leaving the path clear for Buffy to approach the goal. Ron looked determined to block her. Out of the corner of her eye, Buffy saw Ginny swoop in, to the left side of the goal. Buffy acted quickly. She feigned right, throwing Ron off course, before throwing the ball to Ginny, who scored. Harry punched the air and whooped, while the two girls grinned at each other.

The match continued until Mrs Weasley called them all in for lunch, though the Twins were reluctant to stop as they were currently losing 5 to 7. Harry Buffy and Ginny, however, were quick to agree how hungry they were and the group headed back down the hill.

"We let you win." Fred said.

"No you didn't." Ginny snapped. "We won fair and square."

"Not a chance. We just didn't want to disappoint you ladies… no offense Harry." George added.

"Yeah, we're being gentlemen." Ron said with a grin.

"Bull." Harry exclaimed. "You've played girls before! Fred, wasn't it you who told me to knock Cho off her broom once?"

"That's different." Fred said.

"How?" Buffy asked.

"Cos…it just is…"

Harry Buffy and Ginny laughed,

"We rule." Buffy said, giving Ginny a high five.

"Don't worry guys- it's just that girls girls kick ass and always have." Ginny said in mock sympathy. "…and Harry's really good." She added quickly.

"We'll see. Now that Buffy knows what she's doing we can play a more proper game- we'll wipe the floor with you." Fred said.

The argument continued until Mrs Weasley slammed her glass down on the table back inside, and they all froze.

            "Isn't the weather lovely today." She said calmly after a silent pause.

            "Yes." "Great." "Really sunny." They all agreed quickly.

Towards the end of the meal, Mrs Weasley said,

            "The Order are having a meeting here tonight…" Instant uproar. "SHH!" She said. "Listen to me! I don't want any of you getting in the way, alright? You must _not_ interfere, understand me?"

            "But mum!" Fred and George whined. "We're out of school! We're adults! Why can't we come to the meeting?"

            "How many times must we have this conversation?" Mrs Weasley huffed. "I don't want you involved! 

            "Why is it here, and not at Sirius's house?" Harry asked stiffly. Buffy felt a painful tug, knowing how hard it was for Harry to bring up the subject of his late godfather.

            "There have been some… problems in Grimwauld place, Harry dear." Mrs Weasley replied. "Kreacher for one. He goes crazy whenever anyone goes in there- with Sirius… gone… he doesn't even have to pretend to serve anyone, and attacks anyone who enters… which sets Old Mrs Black off too."

They all noticed the severe _lack_ of Hermione's defense of the house elf. Since his role in the events of last term, Hermione seemed to have finally accepted that he was an evil little thing. (though she'd never actually admitted it out loud.)  "We will deal with him, but for now, this place will have to do!" Mrs Weasley told them.

Harry nodded silently.

            "You ok?" Buffy asked her brother. It was later that afternoon, and the siblings were alone on the grass outside. The Weasleys had been ordered to do some cleaning, and Mrs Weasley had refused to allow the Potters or Hermione to help. Hermione had gone to hers and Ginny's room to continue reading Harry's book of slayer lore. Harry sighed,

            "Yeah. I'm ok." He replied.

            "You really miss him, huh?"

            "Yeah. I just… ough! I still… I keep getting this feeling that he can't _really_ be dead. That somehow… somehow he's still there. It just didn't seem right. It was too simple."

            "I know what you mean." Buffy said quietly.

            "I don't think you can. It was just like, one moment he was there, and the next he wasn't." Harry clicked his fingers, "Just like that."

            "That's how it is sometimes." Buffy said.

            "But you haven't…"

            "I have." Buffy said, still gentle, but snappy at the same time. "Twice, Harry. With angel, and my mom."

            "That was different…" Harry insisted.

            "No. With Angel, it was that decision… one moment he was alive, Angel again, _my _Angel, and the next, _I_ had killed him, and he was sucked into _hell_, Harry. Totally gone, no body to grieve, just like Sirius. I ran away after that- life just wasn't the same… I didn't see how it ever could be! And my mom… one second I was calling out to her, about to tell her about this wicked movie I just saw with Will and Xander, and the next second I saw her… just lying there…" A lone tear ran down Buffy's cheek. "I know how you feel, Harry." She croaked. Harry felt awful. He shuffled over to her, and knelt up, wrapping his arms around the girl, who was two years older than him, but never the less shorter. He rested his cheek on the top of her head, and murmured,

            "I'm sorry, Buffy. I'm so sorry… I'm such an arse."

She tried to speak, but just came out with a sob, the pain of her mother's death coming afresh after all these weeks of holding it in.

            Hermione watched from the window, and felt her heart almost breaking. She knew what they'd been talking about, even though she couldn't hear the words. She'd seen Harry's mood coming on the moment he spoke of Sirius, and yet something Buffy had said had turned it around in seconds. Hermione still wasn't sure about Buffy, but she now accepted how much pain the slayer (if that's what she really was) must have gone through. Hermione looked back down to Harry's book on slayer lore, and a few minutes later, found her eyes widening in shock,

            _'The slayer will rarely live more than three to five years. On the death of one slayer, another shall be immediately called to take her place. So it has been since before written word. For some demons, killing a slayer is seen as sport- some spend their entire lives searching out slayers for this reason.  Some slayers may survive longer, every extra year gaining them skill and knowledge, and increasing their chance of survival, but inevitably, all die young. The eldest slayer lived to twenty five.'_

Hermione blanched and glanced back out of the window as she read the next line. She dropped the book on her bed, and slumped down beside it. Now she understood why slayers were thought of as myth. Now she knew why the council would not want too many people to believe the truth. How could people accept _that?_

            '_The shortest lived called slayer was killed just five minutes after discovering her destiny, during an attack on the watchers council in 1943.  She was stabbed with her own stake.'_

_------_

Short and…wait, it wasn't sweet, it was depressing… oh well!

Please review!!

-Sam

Thanx to Maria for correcting me on the last line- I made it up at first, but apparently it says in one of the books the _real_ shortest lived slayer, so I have now changed it!!


	18. Enter the Order

Here ya go guys- this one's a bit longer. 

I cant believe how incredible you people are! I feel properly honoured that so many of you like my story! *sniff*

C.S- right about….now.

Witchlight- sweetie I told you already- no, no, no, sooo not happening. Grossness.

Miz- you gotta wait and see about Faith!!

Some people still seem to be in denial about the pairing front- so I'm saying now that although I do believe angel and Buffy will love eachother for ever and ever, this is NOT gonna be a buffy/Angel fic. I repeat- NO buffy/Angel-ness!!

Big thanks to Maria for giving me the facts on the shortest lived slayer- I have now changed the very end of the last chapter accordingly, as apparently the shortest lived slayer died after just 5 minutes. So thanx!

All of you must go read Becks89, witchlight and Shooting star19's stories, they rock! 

But first, read mine…

Chapter 18- Enter the order 

            Hermione seemed suddenly shy, confusing Harry and Ron immensely- she'd never been shy, not even in first year! She murmured answers to their queries, and wouldn't meet Buffy's eyes. The slayer wondered what she had done now. Why did Hermione hate her so much? They had spent the rest of the afternoon trying to get some homework done. (Buffy was appalled that they got homework over summer) Harry and Ron had moaned a lot, but Hermione had then told them, in as few words as possible (they wondered why they felt cheated when she didn't lecture them!) that homework was very important, and they knew very well that without it they'd forget everything over the summer. Buffy just watched over Harry's shoulder, asking endless questions and stealing Harry's textbooks, as she found magical school work absolutely fascinating- she herself was as shocked as everyone else.

            "Right… history of magic. Oh god… what the hell does this have to do with magic!?" Ron cried, looking at his next essay title. 

            "What is it?" Harry asked, searching for his notebook, in which he _had _written down homework, but due to the events at the end of term, he hadn't really taken it in.

            "Describe and explain the truth behind the age old myth of Hansel and Gretel." Hermione reeled off by rote. Harry's eyes widened,

            "What!?" He groaned. Buffy grinned widely. "What?" He asked suspiciously.

            "I can do that one." She said proudly. 

            "Huh? How?" Hermione asked, forgetting her shyness for a moment.

            "I killed 'im." Buffy replied simply. Their eyes got wider, but no less confused. Buffy was ecstatic. "Hansel and Gretel was a demon. He took the form of the two children, and effected local peoples minds to make them turn on those that he framed for hurting, or even killing the children- the righteous mob go get the mean old witch and anyone else who fits the description."

            "And you fought him?" Harry asked.  

            "Yup. Bastard waltzed into _my_ town, framed witches, including my best friend, for the kids' murder, and got my mom… Joyce… to start MOO." Off Hermione's look, she continued, "Mothers Opposed to the Occult. She lumped anything supernatural in with it… including slayers. Almost all the adults of Sunnydale were affected, and Me, Wills and another witch, Amy, were almost burnt at the stake."

            "Oh my god!" Hermione gasped.

            "Yeh… Amy escaped by turning herself into a rat, and the other scoobies saved me an' Will and got the spell to turn the kids back into the demon, who," She grinned even wider, "I skewered with my stake, while still tied to it."

Harry grinned,

            "Cool. Can I write that in my essay?"

            "Do you know any more of the history of it?" Hermione asked, ignoring Harry.

            "I'm not so much the academic type. I know- 'it demon, big pointy stick, shove stick in demon, mommy nice again.'" She replied with a grimace. "But I guess I could phone Will and ask if she still has the info."

            "Fone?" Ron said. Buffy gaped at him.

            "Phone. Call her. Drop her a line… Tel-e-phone." She said, getting quicker, and higher pitched as she went. "You _do_ have phones, right?"

            "Oooh, _telephone_. I used one of those once." Ron said proudly. Buffy looked desperately to Harry,

            "Tell me he's joking."

Harry grinned,

            "He's not joking. Wizards don't use phones. They can apparate to people just as quick, or use floo powder, or owls…"

            "But… telephone…" Buffy said forlornly. She looked suddenly panicked, "You have shoe shops, right?"

Harry cracked up completely. Hermione grinned, and patted Buffy's shoulder comfortingly; she found that now she had got past the slayer part, and finally understood that bit of the Buffy puzzle, she was able to see the person part of Harry's sister, and couldn't help liking her. She still felt a horrid tightness in her chest every time she thought of what Buffy had to bare, and felt ashamed when some ditsy comment made her once again doubt that Buffy really was the slayer, but against her own original judgement, she knew that Buffy was trustworthy, and a great person.

            "Yes, we have shoe shops. Don't worry, lots and lots of shoes."

Buffy breathed again,

            "Thank god."

            "Best part is that you can change their colour whenever you like with a flick of the wand!" 

            "Ooh, money saver." Buffy said, brightening.

Harry and Ron exchanged bewildered looks.

Late that afternoon, about five, the order members began to arrive. A few of them were to have early dinner with the Weasley's before the meeting. Tonks, Lupin and Moody all found the ongoing moans throughout the meal very amusing, even though they knew Molly was perfectly right about refusing the teenagers access to the meeting.

            "NO!" She cried finally. "You are NOT coming. You will not eavesdrop, you will not bug anyone for information, you _certainly_ will not use those damned ear things… _yes_ I know about them, Frederic Weasley!"

Fred looked ready to sulk for the rest of the year, and the rest were simply annoyed. Buffy was intrigued by what she had heard about the order, and found the thought of them protecting the slayer from talks about bad guys actually laughable. It sounded to her like a jumped up scooby meeting.

            "Hey, are there any vampires in this town?" Buffy asked suddenly, cutting straight through the palpable tension in the room. Mrs Weasley looked a little flustered, but shook her head,

            "Not that I know of dear." She replied. Buffy stuck out her bottom lip, 

            "Huh. Oh well." She said sullenly, suddenly missing the active Sunnydale nightlife- now that was wiggy. She never thought she would miss the necessity to patrol.

            "Well I'm sure you shall all find something to do tonight." Lupin said amiably.

            "Yeh, like Homework, Woohoo." Ron murmured. Harry too felt very left out, seeing how he had personally faced Voldemort yet again. They all moaned and complained a little more, before Mrs Weasley insisted they all went upstairs and stayed there until they were told. The teenagers all piled into Ron's room, crashing on the two beds and cushions they'd collected from other rooms.

            "So what do we do for the next six hours?" Ron asked.

            "Six hours?" You reckon it'll take that long?" Buffy exclaimed.

            "Did all last summer." Hermione groaned.

            "Well that sucks."

            "Yup." Ginny agreed.   

            "You got your chess set, Ron?" George asked.

            "Chess?" Buffy said disbelievingly.

            "It's not like normal chess." Harry promised with a grin. They were soon absorbed in a wizarding chess tournament, Buffy pointing out that it was incredibly unfair because the chess pieces were all loyal to either Harry or Ron.

            A couple of hours later, there was a knock on the bedroom door, and they all looked at each other, shocked. Had the meeting finished already? Ron called for who ever it was to enter.

            Buffy grinned. Dumbledore was standing in the doorway.

            "Good Evening." He said. 

"Good evening Proffessor." Most of them chorused.

            "Hey." Buffy greeted him, never being one for formalities.

            "Miss Potter, we would be grateful if you would join us downstairs." Even _bigger_ uproar.

            "What!? But how come she gets to go if we can't!?" Fred cried.

            "Yeah! She's never faced V…_you know who!!_" Ron agreed.

            "That's not fair!" Even Hermione protested. Dumbledore just chuckled,

            "Do calm down, please." He said, "We have need of Buffy's …expertise."

            "Why?" Ginny asked.

            "I knew it!" Ron cried, "Snape's a vampire!" They all gave him odd looks, and he grumbled, "Could be…"

            "Proffessor Snape is _not_ a vampire." Dumbledore said, the amusement clear in his voice. "However, Buffy's knowledge gained through being the slayer could be useful in another matter. If you would consent to join the meeting, of course?"

            "Sure. Of course." Buffy said, not quite sure what she was letting herself in for.     

            "Excellent. Shall we?" He stood aside and motioned her out. Buffy squeezed Harry's hand, knowing how irritated he must be, and left with Dumbledore. 

            "Well what the hell are you waiting for!?" Hermione snapped, "Where are those bloody extendable ears?"

            Down stairs, Buffy was shown into the kitchen, suddenly feeling very childish indeed. The large room was full of people, some of whom she'd met, and some she hadn't. Tonks gave her a comforting smile, and Lupin nodded to her; Buffy smiled back nervously.

            "I still wish for an explanation as to why a _child_ is being included in this." Drawled a voice from the opposite end of the room. Buffy looked for it's owner, and narrowed her eyes. His hair was greasy and black, his nose hooked, skin pale, and eyes fathomlessly dark. 

            "You _gotta_ be Snape." Buffy almost snarled before she could stop herself. Ron had been right- he looked just like a vampire, and sent Buffy's senses wild. She half expected him to vamp out, and from the frown that now formed, he practically did.

            "I correct myself." He growled, "An _insolent_ child."

            "I am _not_ a child." Buffy replied. Dumbledore could have sworn the temperature in the room had dropped several degrees in the last few seconds, and hurried to break the ominous starring match.

            "Miss _Potter_ is here to help." He cut in. A murmured ran round those who didn't already know- _Potter?_ "Yes." Dumbledore continued, especially to Snape, "This is Anne _Lily_ Potter, Harry's elder sister."

            "That is preposterous." Snape snapped. "Lily _cannot_ have had an elder child. She had that _boy_ merely a year after leaving Hogwarts."

            "Yes. It appears that the Potters' kept this from us all." Dumbledore told the group. "They had a daughter in their sixth year at Hogwarts. They concealed the pregnancy with spells, and gave her up for adoption with muggle services so no one would know."   

            "'Cept aunt Petunia." Buffy murmured.

            "Except Lily's sister." Dumbledore added, smiling at her.

            "Be that as it may, I _still_ see no reason for her to be involved in this highly sensitive meeting." Snape insisted.

            "Sorry if I offended your meeting." Buffy murmured, not _too_ quietly. Chuckles followed her comment, but Dumbledore had more to say.

            "I was getting to that, Severus. What I am about to say is also very important." He said. "I cannot stress enough how imperative it is that none of you mentions this to anyone else. I feel it is necessary to tell all present to explain Miss Potter's involvement, but no other must be told." He glanced at Buffy, and she nodded, giving her consent. "If that is agreed…" Nods and murmurs assured that it was as they were all too intrigued to delay matters. "Miss Potter is the slayer." Dumbledore said finally. An almighty hush filled the room. The few who already knew were grinning widely, enjoying the shock on the other's faces, but Snape looked appalled.

            "Dumbledore this really is _enough!_" He cried. "The _slayer?_ Anyone with any sense knows that the slayer is no more than a myth to help children sleep better at night! This girl is clearly as full of stuff and nonsense as her arrogant little brother."

Now _that_ was a mistake. A BIG mistake. No one was grinning anymore. The look on Buffy's face would have made the mayor of Sunnydale reschedule for a few hundred years later. Buffy was not a big girl. She was not tall, or broad, but one thing four years of slaying gives you is _inner_ strength. Right now not one of them would have liked to even suggest she wore a different lipstick.

            "Don't you _ever_ insult my family." Buffy growled in a low, dangerous voice. "Why don't you try losing all your friends; getting kicked out of school, _twice_, for things that weren't even your fault; seeing people you love die before your very eyes; going to _hell_; spending night after night fighting monsters and saving people who forget you like **_that;_**and _dying **yourself**!!_ _Then_ you can try telling me again that the _slayer_ isn't real."

By the end, she was shouting, and Snape said nothing. He looked, if possible, paler, his lips pressed tightly together, but his eyes burning with hatred. Buffy just stood there, fuming, waiting to see what would happen next. She was well aware that she might sent back out for yelling at Snape, but wasn't sure she'd be exactly nice about _that_ either.

----

***grins* **now that felt good.

Hope you liked it, please review!!

-Sam


	19. And here comes the slayer

Heya people, your reviews really lighten up biology AS coursework and impossible Chemistry!! Thank you all sooo much! 

Shooting star19- Sorry, you're right, it was Wood, not Fred who told harry to knock Cho off her broom, but can we pretend? Pleasey? 

Chancing Faith- I'm a girl. Girl, not guy. (Sam-453 is a character in darkangel- girl girl girl) so now that is clarified…

Kristal- Thank you so much. I know you didn't ask any questions, but I just wanted to say thanks, that review made me feel incredible, my cheeks were hurting from grinning. So thanks.

Prophetess of hearts- This is just after season 3, so Buffy hasn't been in heaven yet.

C.S- …and now is when _I_ say – 'here ya go. New chapter up right _now!'_

Next- Are you guys aware that you're really really morbid?? How many of you suggested that Buffy should now (and I quote) 'dismember [snape] bloodily' or something to that effect!? Hello, snape=human (or almost, so he doesn't have a heart, still technically human!) Ok, so there may be some snape bashing later on cos its fun, but u lot have worryingly graphic imaginations! Lol. But hey, im glad you're getting so in to the story!

All go read Becks89, witchlight and shooting star19's stories because they are very cool, and as I've read lots of witchlight's un posted stuff already, I can tell you there is some very wicked stuff to come. Shooting star- it works much better if you actually update now and then!!!  And becks… Becks is just very very groovy!!

Enough babble, on with the chapter…

Chapter 19- And here comes the slayer 

            "Buffy." Dumbledore said quietly. "Everything is alright, please calm down."

She blinked a couple of times, and managed to turn her furious gaze from the potions professor. She nodded slowly, and took the seat Moody pulled out for her. Dumbledore was speaking, though it seemed distant to the slayer. "Miss Potter _is_ the slayer." He confirmed, "Despite your beliefs, Severus, many of us have known that the slayer is entirely real for a long time, and I'm sure we'd appreciate you simply accepting that fact." As her head cleared, Buffy was sure she sensed a clipped edge to Dumbledore's words, as if he was trying very hard not to rage himself. Snape nodded stiffly. "Good." Dumbledore said. "Remus?"

            "Yes." Lupin said, clearing his throat and looking around at the other members. The reason we thought Buffy's help could be of use, is…"

            "I'm sorry," A man Buffy guessed was Kingsley Shacklebolt interrupted. "But, Buffy? I thought you said her name was Anne?" There was a murmur of agreement, and Dumbledore looked to Buffy. She nodded, and said,

            "My adoptive parents changed my name. I've been known as Buffy my whole life… so most people call me Buffy."

            "Ah. Thank you." Kingsley said with a smile, before nodding to Lupin, "Please continue."

            "Yes… Dumbledore told me you once fought an invisible foe, yes?"

            "Yeah." Buffy replied. "So?"

            "Who hasn't?" Moody grumbled. "Remus, I don't see how she can spread any more light on the situation."

            "We must explore all options, Alastor." Lupin said exasperatedly, "And I have never before heard of what it seems Buffy experienced before. Buffy, could you tell us what happened to the girl?"

            "Sure." Buffy agreed as they all turned to her. "It was a girl at my school who I'd never met- her name was Marcy Ross. She was pretty much ignored, not always on purpose… but to most people, she was simply invisible." Some of the group considered interrupting to say that metaphorical invisibility was not the issue, but seeing that neither Lupin nor Dumbledore frowned at this, they decided to wait. "A couple of years ago, stuff started happening. Specific people were hurt, being pushed down stairs when there was no one there, things like that… I realised that it was no coincidence, and that these things weren't accidental. I eventually found a sort of nest in the ceiling above the music room. There was a yearbook in there, Marcy Ross' yearbook. We looked through it, but none of my friends recognised the girl's picture despite the fact that they had each signed her yearbook. Somehow Marcy had become invisible. Noone saw her, so one day, she faded away. She blamed certain people for it, and tried to get back at them."

            "What happened?" Gasped Tonks, who was completely caught up in the story.

            "She tried to hurt those people, and when I tried to stop her, she lumped me in with them too. But I worked out how to fight her…" Then Buffy frowned, "I'd got her, and then these way creepy government types turned up an took her away… I had the feeling that it had happened before."

            "So this kid was totally invisible, without a spell or cloak, or anything?" Someone asked thoughtfully.

            "Yup. That's what the hellmouth does to ya." Buffy replied.

            "That would fit with us having no result from revealing charms." Shacklebolt said.

            "But she was still solid." Moody argued, "We would have found the bastard by now."

            "Well we already know it's not a ghost." Mrs Weasley put in, "We've tested for ghosts!"

Buffy was very lost. She shook her head,

            "What are you going on about?" She asked, "What's happening?"

            "That doesn't concern you." Moody said, "We are grateful for your help, but…"

            "It does too concern me." Buffy said, "Look, its gonna be much easier for me to help if I know what's going on." She appealed to Dumbledore.

            "Dumbledore, this is not a child's matter." Someone warned.

            "But I'm _not _a child." Buffy said, calm, but firm. "I'm the slayer- this kinda stuff is my _job._."

            "All the same…" Mrs Weasley began.

            "Molly, everyone, please quiet down." Dumbledore said, "I understand your misgivings, and I too am reluctant to bring Buffy further into this matter…"

            "Perhaps…" Said another, "Someone looking at it from a different perspective would not be such a bad idea." They all swivelled to goggle at the speaker. Buffy frowned, why was _he_ standing up for her? "Is it not possible that we are looking too deep to see what is right before us- or even that is something we have never encountered, but perhaps the… the _slayer_ has?" Snape finished.

            "He's right." Lupin said, though his tone suggested he hated to say so. Buffy nodded,

            "So what's the dealio?"

Lupin glanced around to check for objections, but as they were all still in shock, none came.

            "There is _something_ in the ministry of magic. Due to the acceptance of Voldemort's return, many believe it to be an agent of the dark lord. No one has seen it, or touched it, but several have been attacked, and things have been destroyed. Many have observed it's _actions_, including several of us present here today… but we have failed to apprehend it. Spells to uncovered cloaked or magically invisible people have failed, spells to dispel ghosts or call ghosts or trap ghosts have also failed. We are, admittedly, at a loss."

Buffy raised her eyebrows,

            "Well it can't be someone like Marcy… You'd have caught her, she was very much solid, and not exactly silent. How long has it been going on?"

            "All Summer." Mr Weasley replied, "Since just before the end of the school year."

            "And it can't be, like, a poltergeist or something?"

            "No, we've checked for them too."

            "How about a witch levitating stuff, maybe using it as a diversion?"

            "We would have noticed one of our colleagues swishing and flicking." Moody growled. Buffy frowned,

            "I meant a wicca. They wouldn't need a wand. You wouldn't be able to tell."

There was a pause- no one had thought of that. But Dumbledore shook his head.

            "There have been times when only we have been present and things have still happened. I feel we would have known by now if that were the case."

            "Ok." Buffy sighed, thinking deeply of anything she had encountered that could have done such things, but nothing came to mind. "It could be some sort of demon…" She ventured, "Maybe one of these screwy trans-dimensional ones."

A few of the order nodded, unable to think of reason why not.

            "How would you know?" Tonks asked. Buffy shrugged,

            "Sometimes I can just feel them." She said. Mrs Weasley's eyes widened as she realised where this was leading.

            "No." She said, even as Lupin opened his mouth.

            "But if she can feel things like that, it could really help." Tonks said. Buffy was pretty sure she'd missed something.        

            "Huh? What would help?" She asked, to no avail.

            "She is not a child, Molly." Lupin said. "She's the slayer!"

            "She is still Harry's sister, and…"

            "HELLO!?" Buffy cried, forcing them to look at her, "What are you guys talking about?" She asked in a normal voice.

            "You should come to the ministry." Moody replied. "See what you make of our little ghoulie."

Buffy shrugged,

            "Cool."

            "It's not 'cool'." Molly Weasley gasped. "It's very dangerous- we don't know _what _this thing is…"

            "That's the point." Snape hissed. Molly glared at him. Buffy sighed,

            "Look, I get that it could be dangerous, but dangerous is pretty much my life, an' I can deal." She told them all. "I've been to hell and back- literally. I can deal with this."

They all looked eager to ask about her trip to hell, now that she'd mentioned it twice, but they held back, looking to Dumbledore instead. He thought for a moment, before letting out an exhausted sounding breath.

            "Molly, again, I say that I understand your misgivings, and I would avoid this under any other circumstances… but we need another perspective. We need someone to look at it differently- we're out of options. I agree that Buffy should go." A murmur of agreement ran around the room, and when a vote was called, only Mrs Weasley opposed it, though Buffy knew it was for care for Buffy, rather than denying the experience to her. Buffy smiled gratefully at the woman, her heart warming at the knowledge that she worried for her. 

            "I'll take her with me when I go to work tomorrow." Mr Weasley said, a little shakily.

            "Yes." Dumbledore agreed. "I'll clear it with Fudge- we don't need lots of questions about Buffy."

Lupin was grinning,

            "That lot are going to be furious." He said happily, glancing upwards. Buffy grinned, she really did like this guy.

            "They're gonna freak." Buffy agreed.

She was right.

            "You're WHAT!?"

            "How come?"

            "What did they talk about?"

            "WHAT!?"

            "But that's not fair!"

Buffy just doubled over laughing, unable to answer any questions, no matter how fast they shot them. Harry eventually had to help her over to one of the beds where she managed to catch her breath. 

            "So?" Harry urged. She grinned,

            "I'm not allowed to tell you." She said with all too much glee. After another short uproar, she added, "It's just some problem they're having, and they want me to check it out- see if it's demony." She shrugged.

            "If it was that simple then they'd tell us." Hermione pointed out.

            "I'm not so sure actually." Buffy said, "Lupin seemed to take joy in forbidding me from saying anything."

            "But that's so unfair!" Ron whined. "We've been trying to get them to tell us stuff for ages, and you're here like a day and you're working for the order!"

            "Whoa, whoa, slow down, soo not working for the order, just helpin' out. Buffy strictly freelance- I really down like big organisations." They all sensed the bitterness in her voice, though only Harry knew the source of it.

            "Whatever, you're still in on their meetings, and going to the ministry." Hermione said, "If it were us, they'd say, 'its too dangerous, you're just children, blah blah blah'."

            "Mrs Weasley still did." Buffy admitted, "But I'm the slayer, guys, this is my job… cept I don't get paid, which sucks… but it's, y'know, destiny." She shrugged, "I'd probably have found a way to check it out even if they hadn't allowed me."

            "I like this girl." George said with a grin.

            "We heard you yelling." Hermione said quickly. "Even the charm Mrs Weasley put on the door to stop us using the 'ears didn't smother _that_ rant- but who were you yelling at?"

Buffy grimaced,

            "Take a guess." She said. Harry grinned widely,

            "No way."

            "Yes way. Bastard insulting my family and saying the slayer didn't exist." Buffy grumbled, while Hermione decided she was very glad she'd never insulted Buffy or her family.

            "She yelled at Snape." Fred said in a sing-song voice.

            "I _definitely_ like this girl!" George exclaimed.

--------

You know what I'm gonna ask for. You know how much I love 'em. Pleasey please review! ***grins***


	20. The Ministry

Heya people, I was gonna wait til tomorrow to update, and then I decided not to. :D Cos you're all so wonderful. 

I'm glad some of you are guessing about the ghoulie, much fun for me. Of course I'm not gonna tell you if you're right or not…

Kristal- thanks for that correction, hope you guys can forgive me if I don't bother to go change it, but I agree that buffy should have said 'I really _don't_ like big organisations' rather than _down._ As for organisation though, I'm English, it can be spelt either way.

Ally- About Buffy's adult-ness, just bear with me, ok? I didn't mean to over emphasize her being called a child, it just, think about it, of course their gonna be protective of lily and james' daughter. But still, just bear with me!

J- I appreciate what you're saying, I don't like over doing the character bashing too much, and I'm not going to with Snape, sorry if you thought him not liking james' daughter was too overdone, or the slayer thing, but there will be more snape progression later.

ScruffyWes- Buffy went to a hell dimension at the beginning of S2, in 'Anne'.

Wow, lots to say.

As always, all go read Witchlight, Becks89 and shooting star19's stories, and bug them to update for me!!

On with the story-

Chapter 20- The Ministry 

            The next morning, Buffy was up at seven. She fixed her hair, and dressed a little smarter (but still wearing trousers, taking into account the possibility of demon fighting). She made her way down to the kitchen, making as little sound as possible so as not to wake anyone else up. When she reached the kitchen, she was shocked to see both Mr Weasley and George already there. 

            "Morning." She said, sitting down.

            "Morning." George grinned back. Mr Weasley looked less happy,

            "Good morning Buffy." He said. 

            "Ok… what's up?" She asked.

            "Nothing." George replied, "Dad's just not very happy that my meeting about the company happens to be on the same day you're going with him."            

Buffy grinned at him, but looked serious again when Mr Weasley looked up from his cereal. 

            "So… how are we getting there?" Buffy asked, taking a piece of toast.

            "George is apparating in, but we'll use floo powder." Mr Weasley replied.

            "Floo powder?" Buffy repeated, sure she'd heard wrong.

            "Yes- don't worry, you'll see how it works." 

            "Ok then." Buffy said. Her stomach was rolling- despite her confidence last night, she was wondering whether this might be well over her head.

            Only minutes later, Buffy was standing before the fireplace with Mr Weasley and George. Mr Weasley showed her the pot of glittery powder, and explained what she had to do.

            "Right…" Buffy said, taking a handful of powder, but frowning deeply. George her discomfort, and said,

            "Tell you what, I'll apparate there first, so that I'll be there when you arrive, and I can y'know, catch you if you need it."

            "Catch me?" Buffy murmured, near despair, but Mr Weasley didn't hear.

            "Excellent idea, George. You go now, then."

George winked at Buffy, said,

            "It's really not that bad." And then disappeared with a loud 'pop'.

            "Ok. Ok. I can do this." Buffy told herself. She threw the powder in, and stepped into the green flames. "The Ministry of Magic." She said firmly. The smoke burnt her throat, but Buffy had withstood much worse, and the words came out clear enough. She was whisked away before she could hear Mr Weasley's gasp of realisation, and a loud curse.

            Buffy stumbled out of another fireplace, only staying standing because of her slayer abilities. She looked around, and frowned. Huh. No George. But there was a witch standing before her looking pompous and making faces about her clothes.

            "What?" Buffy asked, a little irritated.

            "Pardonez-moi?" The witch said.

            "Huh?"

            "Excusez-moi?"

            "You French!?" Buffy exclaimed.

            "French? Francais, oui. Je suis Francais. Vous etes Anglais, non?"

            "Y'what now?"

            "Vous ne parlez pas Francais? Qu'est que vous faisez a Paris, si vous ne parlez pas Francais?"

Buffy groaned. She'd got Francais, and Paris. That was it. Then something clicked.

            "_Paris!_?"

            "Oui, Paris." The witch said, looking more confused now. "Vous etes a Paris. Comment vous s'appelle?"

            "Appelle…" Buffy murmured, remembering something from a French class in which she'd rarely listened. "Appelle- that's to do with your name! Buffy. Je appelle Buffy." She said proudly. The witch snorted a laugh.

            "Vous s'appelle 'Buffy'?" She said.

            "Yeh. Je s'appelle Buffy."

The witch raised her eyebrows, astounded by the mutilation of her language as well as the girl's name.

            "Buffy…" She asked, motioning to show she meant 'Buffy what?" 

            "Oh. Buffy Sum… Buffy Potter… actually, technically _Anne_ Potter…"

            "Potter? Vous s'appelle Potter?"

            "Jeez, do I have to repeat everything? Oui, Je suis Anne Potter!" She grinned to herself, realising she just used another French word she hadn't known she remembered. The witch was gaping at her. Buffy frowned, then cursed, "Oh crap. I forgot that my stupid little brother was famous." 

The witch, who knew a little English, gasped,

            "Brozer? 'Arry Potter est ton frere?"

            "You really lost me sister." Buffy said, shaking her head. "All I wanna do is get to _Le Ministry de Magic_… dans Londre?"

            "Ahh, Le ministry de Magic a Londre! Vous etes a Paris!" Despite her curiosity, the witch felt obliged to help the apparent sister of such a famous boy. She took her over to a fireplace, and offered her a floo powder pot. "Parlez-vous 'Le Ministry de Magic, _Londre._"

            "Oh." Buffy said. "Thanks… Merci."

            "De rien." She said smiling. Buffy kept smiling, while thinking _I have no clue what you just said._ "Bon voyage, mademoiselle Potter."

Buffy took the powder, and said,

            "Merci Beaucoup, Madame…"

The witch chuckled, 

            "Aidel. Je m'appelle Aidel."

            "Merci, Aidel. Oh-rev-iour." Buffy said with a smile, before throwing in the powder. Aidel winced at the badly pronounced word, but said,

            "Au revoir."

Buffy stepped into the flames once again, and this time said,

            "The ministry of magic, London, _England_." (just to be sure) And again, she was sped away.

            When Buffy once again tumbled out of a fireplace, it was right into the arms of a tall, grinning redhead. 

            "Took your time." George said, helping Buffy to stand properly on her own. She stuck out her tongue at him.

            "Oh! Buffy, thank god!" Mr Weasley cried, "Where did you end up? I'm ever so sorry, I forgot to tell you to say _which_ ministry!"

Buffy pouted,

            "I really shoulda listened in French lessons." She moaned.

            "You ended up in France!?" George laughed.

            "Ha ha, very funny. Met a very nice witch… who spoke barely any English… very confusing…"

            "Well at least you're alright." Mr Weasley sighed. But George was still grinning.

            "What!?" She asked exasperatedly.

            "Can I write 'wash me' across her forehead?" George staged whispered to his father.

            "George!"

            "Huh? My… Huh?" Buffy frowned, and dragged a finger down one cheek. It was thick with soot. "EW!" She cried. George grinned even wider, while Mr Weasley quickly magicked her clean. Buffy patted her hair, and found that is was in complete disarray. "Urgh!" She exclaimed, "Why cant you just use cars like _normal_ people!? Where's the bathroom?"

            "Erm- just there." Mr Weasley said, swallowing nervously and pointed to a doorway.

            "Thank you." Buffy said stiffly, and stalked off.       

            Several minutes later, Buffy reappeared with perfect hair and not a speck of soot. "Right, where's this ghoulie, so I can kick 'is ass an' get outta here?"

            "Ghoulie?" George said hopefully, grinning at both Buffy's attitude and her slip up. Buffy winced, 

            "Sorry." She said to Mr Weasley. He said,

            "George, go to your meeting."

George rolled his eyes, winked again to Buffy, and headed off.

            "So what happens now?" Buffy asked.

            "Now we go down to where the incidents seem to be concentrated."

            "Down?"

            "Yes, they seem to be more common in the lower levels of the ministry. Come- we must go through security first." Buffy said nothing, but followed him down the hall, and towards a huge golden fountain, figures of a wizard, witch, goblin and a house elf in the centre. Buffy raised an eyebrow, but kept walking with no questions. When the reached a desk beside large golden gates, Buffy found herself looking at a man who clearly was not exactly satisfied with his position in life. He was badly shaven and sullen, dressed in peacock blue robes.

            "A'right Weasley, who's it today?"

            "This is Anne Potter, I believe Minister Fudge…"

            "Yeah yeah, you got a wand?" He said. Buffy shook her head. "A'right, go on… wait, Potter?"

            "Thank you Eric." Mr Weasley said curtly, and lead Buffy through the gates. They went down in a packed lift, with paper aeroplanes flying above their head, and eventually came out in a long, grey, extremely creepy corridor. Buffy caught her breath,  

            "Harry told me about this place… why are we down here?"

            "I told you- this is where things seem to happen most. This and the next few floors up."

Buffy shivered, 

            "Well it gives me the wiggins." She said. She began walking down the hall, the cold stabbing at her skin, and the pain of years gone by bombarding her mind. Buffy felt her stomach roll. "What the _hell_ used to happen down here?" She asked, her disgust clear in her voice. 

            "There are dark things down here." Mr Weasley replied, "Few know the extent of everything that has gone on in the department of mysteries over the years- I know I don't."

Buffy could hear screams in her mind, the magic that filled this place amplifying the memories cast in the stone.

            "Bad people." Buffy murmured, "There were trials down here…" She spun round, frowning, "And in the past, Azkaban wasn't the worst punishment, was it?"

            "I really don't know much about it, Buffy." Mr Weasley said genuinely. "But I have heard rumours, yes. – do you feel anything?"

            "Feel anything?" Buffy repeated, "God, I feel everything…" She shuddered, "This 'ghoulie' could be anything. So much crap has gone on down here- it could be anything!"

            "But it's only happened recently." Mr Weasley argued.

            "Ok, so what happens down here now?"

            "I don't know."

            "Mr Weasley!" Called a voice from the end of the corridor, near the lift. The pair spun round, to see a wizard with a bowler hat approaching them.

            "Fudge." Mr Weasley said under his breath. Buffy felt her jaw tighten at the very thought of the things this man had accused Harry of last year. "Minister." Mr Weasley said louder, in a cheerful voice. Cornelius fudge nodded to Mr Weasley (rather stiffly) and held out a hand to Buffy.

            "You must be our mysterious guest." Fudge said, "I am Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic." Buffy didn't hesitate, but deep in her mind she went through the process of wondering whether to say,

            "Hi, I'm Buffy, the vampire slayer."

Or maybe,

            "Hi, I'm Harry Potter's sister, bad mouth him again and I'll kill you."

Or perhaps even,

            "There's this guy I know, name of Spike, I think you'd really like him, maybe you should go over for _dinner_?"

However, the over ruling result was one that went for maximum shock while not making him think she was a phycho killer, or revealing too much.

            "Hi." She shook his hand, "I'm Anne Lily Potter."

            "P-p-potter?" Fudge spluttered. "Anne _Lily Potter_!?" He looked to Arthur Weasley, who was trying not to grin. Buffy smiled, 

"I think you've met my brother, Harry?"

"Harry Potter's… but that's… the Potter's…"

"Had another child before Harry." Mr Weasley finished for him, "Who no one knew about until a few weeks ago. I believe me have more pressing business to attend to, minister."

"Yes. Quite. May I speak to you, Arthur?" Fudge gripped Mr Weasley's arm and lead him away, while Buffy looked around and pretended not to listen. "What is she doing here? I _thought_ you were bringing in an expert, not a _Potter!_"

"The Potters were experts." Mr Weasley snapped. "But that is hardly the point. Miss Potter is here to help- she lives on a hellmouth."

"On a…" Fudge swallowed, "A… a hellmouth did you say?"

"Yes. She knows about plenty of supernatural things, and we feel her help would be very valuable."

"Yes. Yes, quite." Fudge mumbled. _What a pathetic lump._ Mr Weasley was thinking. _How did I ever respect this man?_ "Well… I shall be upstairs if you… if you need me."

"I will remember that."

"Yes." Fudge swallowed again, casting a look in Buffy's direction, and heading back to the lift. Buffy sauntered up to Mr Weasley's side, watching the minister for magic leave. Once the lift had gone, she released a laugh,

"That's the minister for magic?" She gasped.

"Yes." Mr Weasley replied with a smile.

"God, he's the most… ok, no, but he comes close to the most pathetic man I have ever seen."

"Yes, he is rather…" But he was cut of as Buffy turned suddenly, very alert. "Buffy?"

"Something is here." She whispered, looking around the corridor, eyes narrowed. "I can feel it."

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I apologise for the lack of accents on the French bit, my computer stubbornly refuses to do them, and also for the huge possibility that the French grammar was _all_ wrong, I never was much good at French!

Anyway, hope you liked it, please review!


	21. Ghoulie

Hey guys, as usual, u rock, thank you sooo much for all the reviews!! 

C.S- guess what I'm gonna say? In fact, no, im not posting the chapter now, this is a figment of your imagination! J

Brokenskye- just wait,k? Keep reading.

Laura- your wish will soon be granted (then u can change ur screen name!!)

Anne(v)79- Wait an' see!!

Becks89- so I'm getting the feeling you might just want spikey in the picture? Oooh, I just had an idea… he he he…

Wild320- Buffy cant tell them apart any more than anyone else. ;) its mentioned in the is chapter.

Silver Warrior- Pathetic men buffy has encountered… Wes, Snyder… there are plenty!!

Tefla- Oh god! I can't believe I did that, I did mean third season! Sorry sorry sorry!! The episode 'Anne' IS in the third season, not the second as I stupidly said.

All go read Becks 89's stuff cos she's cool(ish). All go bug Shooting star19 to update NOW never mind AS's. AND ALL go read and review witchlight's stories cos they are wicked, especially for a girl who managed to get hooked on Buffy in the LAST THREE EPISODES!! (and has been swatting it since! Lol) Luv ya hun.

And here we go, a chapter I feel some of you have seriously been waiting for…

Chapter 21- Ghoulie 

            Mr Weasley found himself holding his breath as the slayer's gaze flitted around the narrow space. 

            "It's _really_ not happy." Buffy murmured.

            "Yes, we realised that." Mr Weasley said, a little snippy.

            "Ssh." She ordered. He shut his mouth. Buffy suddenly seemed a whole lot bigger than usual. He realised now, despite his original worries, that young as she may be, Buffy was no child. The second she had felt that thing, she had gone onto autopilot- the ditsy blonde was gone, and one of the strongest women he'd ever seen had appeared. 

            Buffy was frowning, clearly concentrating deeply. An odd noise made her spin, but she sighed as the lift doors clattered open and George grinned at her.

            "My meeting's done." He said.

            "George!" Buffy snapped, while thinking abstractly that it was a good thing the twins often wore 'F' and 'G' jumpers, or she might not have a clue which was which. "I was just…" but her sentence was concluded by a shocked gasp. Buffy's body lurched forwards, and Mr Weasley, looking on, could have sworn that he saw the edges of her very being ripple. The next moment she collapsed backwards again, and simply cried, "Close it!" 

George pushed the 'close doors' button, and leapt out of the lift. _Something_ slammed into the closed doors. George and his father rushed to Buffy's side,

            "Are you ok?" George asked. Buffy nodded, 

            "Yeh." But she was clearly shaken.

            "What happened?"

Buffy paused, swallowed, and then said,

            "It went through me. It was rushing towards the lift, and didn't care that I was in the way… god… it was so cold…"

            "Yeah, ghosts are." George said, remembering his own experiences with the school ghosts.

            "This isn't a ghost." Mr Weasley snapped.

            "Sor-ry." George retorted.

            "What on earth are you doing down here, George?" His father demanded.

The boy shrugged,

            "Came to see if I could help, I was done, and…"

            "And we told you to stay out of this!"

            "No…" Buffy muttered.

            "Your mother will go crazy when she hears, you never listen, do you?"

            "No." Buffy said more firmly. They both turned to her,

            "No what?"

            "Don't yell at him. He helped." Buffy said, still starring at the closed lift doors.

            "I did?" George said, shocked. Buffy nodded,

            "Yeah… Cos o' you we found out two things- one, the ghoulie is trapped down here. It for some reason _can't_ pass into the higher levels, _or_ through those doors. When you opened the lift, it rushed towards it, something an incorporeal being wouldn't usually do- it'd just go _through_ the doors, or up through the floors, why _use_ the lift? It wouldn't make sense, right?"

            "Right." Mr Weasley agreed.

            "So there's gotta be some spell or something blocking it. A spell that closes off the lower floors, and makes that door impenetrable, even to things like this ghoulie."

            "So what's the second thing?" George asked.

            "I know why it doesn't show up as a ghost." Buffy declared. The others raised their eyebrows- Mr Weasley because he was intrigued; George because he didn't have a clue what she meant. So she continued, "When it went through me… it wasn't just like a ghost… it was _way_ colder than that…" She paused, trying to figure the best way to say it, "Look, a ghost is the spirit of someone who has died, but not crossed over, correct?"

            "Yes." Mr Weasley confirmed.

            "Well that is _definitely_ not what we're dealing with. This thing… it _has_ crossed over- it has been fully, one hundred percent dead… but somehow… urgh…" She let out a frustrated breath, knowing this wouldn't sound right. "It's… it's as if, even though this spirit crossed over, it was somehow _forced_ back into this world. Shoved back over the veil and back into a solid world, rather than the spirit world where it belongs."

Mr Weasley and George both swallowed, and glanced at each other, both catching her choice of words.

            "What?" Buffy asked.

            "The veil, did you say?" Mr Weasley said.

            "Yeah, crossing over the veil, pretty common term… why?" They just looked at her, positive Harry _must_ have told her that particular story. When it dawned on Buffy, her eyes widened, "Oh."

            "Oh." George replied, in agreement.

            "That's gotta be it." Buffy said incredulously. "That's… ok, that veil is a portal between this world, and probably one of the many afterlife-ish dimensions, which are, in a large part, from what I remember of one of Giles' speeches, mainly spiritual domains… why would a spirit, that is in it's rightful place, return to a world where it cannot do _anything?_ I mean, sure, it can knock stuff over, but that's about it… When it went through me… I felt… I …I don't think that it wants to be here. Obviously I don't know what's beyond that veil- it could be a hell dimension, a heavenly one, god knows… but whatever it is… I don't think our ghoulie came here of his own accord- it _was_ forced. That I'm pretty sure of."

            "You can tell all that from like five minutes, when the order has been looking into it for months and they've found nothing?" George commented, smirking. 

            "It's just a theory." Buffy said with a shrug.

            "So what could have forced it through?" Mr Weasley asked.

            "A spell?" Buffy suggested, "Or… I dunno, sometimes stuff like this works as an exchange…"

            "In what way?"

            "Y'know, general exchange way, something is given up, or sent one way, and something else comes back. Ritual sacrifice, gifts to goddesses, all works like that."

            "Right…" George said, "So someone sacrificed a pig in front of the veil to bring through a pointless poltergeist?"

Buffy bit her lip, and looked seriously at him,

            "I wasn't talkin' pigs." She told him.

            "Oh. Ew."

Buffy chuckled,

            "Look… I don't know… I'm sorta grabbing at straws… the only being who knows the real deal is our ghoul, an' I'm betting he's listening to every word we say. If he doesn't wanna be here, then he'll help."

            "Yes. That would be useful… George, do stop being silly." Mr Weasley said. His son was making odd spluttering noises. Buffy frowned,

            "George?" 

He suddenly lurched backwards, slamming against the wall and sliding down to the ground. "George?" Buffy repeated, more panicked. His eyes lolled strangely,

            "You wished to converse with me?" He said in a low, monotone voice.

            "George?" Mr Weasley said once more, but Buffy shook her head,

            "That's not George." She said worriedly. "Who are you?" She demanded.

            "That is none of your concern. Release me from this place."

            "Cos you don't belong here, right?" Buffy said.

            "Of course I do not belong. Why can I not leave this place?" He sounded more despairing than angry.

            "You're trying all the wrong ways." Buffy said. "The building you're in is somehow fixed up so that beings like you can't just, y'know, floated up an' out. You wanna go home, I think you gotta go through the veil. That's where you came from, right?"

George's head nodded.

            "I attempted to got through the veil, but I could not… I was torn from my world- it has been corrupted."

            "Corrupted? How?" Buffy asked.

            "Many years ago, there was a balance. Men and women would sometimes come through, and the balance was restored by the exchange. It was a system… however, the system ceased."

            "What do you mean, it ceased?" Mr Weasley asked.

            "That era ended. The men were no longer sent through. Whatever happened to control the spirit sent this way also ceased. This was many decades ago. Now the system wasn't ready."

            "Ready for what?" Buffy asked with a lump in her throat.

            "Ready for _him!_ It wasn't meant to happen! _He_ came through, and the system simply did what it had to, to restore the balance! There was no control, no reasoning, just… _I_ was just tossed out."

            "Oh." Buffy said, wondering how much control there really could be if this world merely consisted of dead spirits, oh well, it wasn't really her best area. "So… who was this 'him'?" Buffy asked cautiously.

            "How should I know? A rapscallion no doubt, they always were. The worst of the worst, they sent through."

Buffy's jaw stiffened, and she looked to Mr Weasley.

            "_That's_ what they used to do? Before Azkaban? They shoved them through _there?_ Into a place they had no understanding of, except they must have known about the spirits, cos they musta done something with them. _That's_ why the lower floors are sealed!" She swallowed, sickened, "God… It's meant to be a spirit world, right?" She asked the spirit. It nodded George's head again,

            "Yes."

            "So what happened to the men and women?" She asked.

            "They perished. A spirit realm cannot support physical life for long. Some lasted a while… but eventually they simply fade, and become spirits themselves."

            "So they physically and mentally starved to death." Buffy said, her voice utterly hollow.

            "Yes. That is a very astute way to put it."

            "Did you see the man?" Buffy asked.

            "Yes."

            "What happened? What was going on when you came through?"

            "There were many people in the room. With magic sticks that shot energy… and a boy… yes, the boy I pitied…" He paused, remembering, and Buffy felt tears coming to her eyes. "He screamed, reaching towards the veil. The fool, he wanted to follow."

            "Harry." Buffy said under her breath.

            "It was Sirius." Mr Weasley gasped. Buffy was swallowing quickly, and both Mr Weasley and the spirit could tell her mind was racing.

            "So the system has to be balanced, yes?" She began, "One man in, one spirit out… does it work the other way?"

            "Yes, of course, an exchange must occur."

            "But will it be the same exchange?" She urged.

            "Not necessarily… however, a man does not belong in such a world. A man would be the first to be ejected… but I doubt he survived this long, and if there is no man, it will be a random process of which spirit is sent through." The spirit replied, knowing her plan.

            "But if he did survive, then sending you back…"

            "Would bring the man forth, yes. He is the only man to be sent through in many decades, it would be him, yes."

            "Then what are we waiting for?" Buffy asked. She stood up, and held out a hand to the spirit within George's body. He took it, and stood too, as did Mr Weasley.

            "Buffy, it's not that simple." He said, "Those rooms are hard to navigate- we could become lost…"

            "Not with ghost boy around-he can flit right through doors, right?"

            "Yes. But I shall have to leave this body, and I will not be able to communicate with you."

            "You can bang on walls, give me cold shoulders, we'll find our way… George'll be ok, right?"

            "Yes. The boy will be fine. Cold, but fine."

            "Then let's go."

-------

:D ***grins*** review!


	22. The Veil

Heya people! I'm glad you like my way of bringing Sirius back… if, of course that's what I'm doing ;) 

Lolly6- the spirit is just a spirit, no one in particular, that's sorta the point, cos it was just random.

Phoenix83ad- Moldywart will be appearing, hopefully sooner rather than later- I'm desperate to write his first bit, but I gotta get there first! He will be coming though! As for Scoobies, and this goes to 'Charmed Chick' too, the scoobies will also be back in later on!

All go read witchlight, Becks89 and shooting star19's stories, please! And review, and tell them that you read their stories cos of me, and then I can be all high and mighty and can I get any more immature? Oh well. Go read!

This chapter is pretty short, I apologise, but I had to end it where it ends. If you write, you'll know what I mean- sometimes you just get to a certain place and you have to stop!

Chapter 22- The Veil 

            The three walked to the end of the corridor, and through a door, which lead to a flight of stairs. Down these stairs they found a corridor that bombarded the slayer with even more images of the awful things that had happened down here. People screamed in her ears, some awful, evil people, some even demons, but some were total innocents. She could hear their fruitless cries, their begs for veritaserum, proof that they did nothing wrong, but it did not come. They were lead, forced, dragged away down the dark, dank corridor to the last door- the one that the small group were approaching. 

Buffy knew where they were going, Harry had told her in detail about that night. She had visualised this place, while awake, and in her dreams. Mr Weasley led the way. As he reached out to turn the handle, the door swung open of it's own accord. He made to step over the threshold, but Buffy suddenly grabbed his arm. 

"Let me go first." She said. He frowned at her, but found that he could not disobey the slayer. Mr Weasley nodded slowly, and allowed Buffy to take the lead. She stepped through, and looked around at the circular room Harry had described to her. She shivered. The entire room was black, awfully black. The tiny blue flames between the black doors were the only light. "Wiggy." Buffy murmured. She heard a creak behind her, and cried, "Don't…" But it was too late, Mr Weasley had closed the door. "Shit." Buffy gasped as they were plunged into near pitch darkness.

"Sorry…" Mr Weasley said, wincing. As Harry had told Buffy they would, the blue lights around them began to turn, the walls spinning round and round, and finally stopping abruptly.

"Now we have no clue which one to take." Buffy snapped.

"This would be my part." The spirit said. "Be prepared to catch the boy- he will be disoriented." With that, George's eyes rolled back, and his body flopped. Buffy ran forward, and caught him, just as he began to flail and yell.

"Get out, get out!" He cried.

"Hey, hey, it's ok." Buffy said, "Calm down, George." He still struggled, but Buffy held on tight, and repeated her words. Eventually he calmed, and blinked a couple of times,

"Buffy? What happened?" He asked.

"Spirit possessed you." Buffy said simply.

"Oh.  Is it bad?"

"Nope, just wants to get home. Did you not get any of the conversation?"

"No… what conversation?" He stood on his own now, and looked around, "And where the hell are we?"

"The spirit _did_ come through the veil." Buffy explained, "And it came through because Sirius was sent the other way."

"Serious?" George gasped.            

"Yes, Sirius, Harry's god father?" Buffy replied, frowning. George frowned back,

"I said 'serious', not Sirius."

"Huh? You… oh!" Buffy grinned, "Oops. Well anyway, yeah, that's what happened, so, if he's still alive, then when the spirit returns, Sirius comes back."

"Cool!"

"Yeah. _If_ he's still alive."

"Ah." George grimaced.

"Yeah. As for where we are- the department of mysteries." Buffy told him. George swallowed, 

"Wow. Fred is gonna be so pissed off…" He spluttered suddenly, and then said, "It is that door." And pointing to one, before stumbling forwards again, and crying, "Dammit!"

Buffy couldn't help but chuckle, 

            "You ok?"

            "Bloody thing went in me again!"

            "It can only communicate verbally when within a human body." Mr Weasley, who had been examining the odd room, said.

            "Well, it could ask." George muttered.

            "So lets try the door." Buffy led the way, and she and the two Weasleys stepped towards the indicated door. Buffy pushed it open, and leapt backwards, slamming her hands over her ears.

            "Buffy!" George cried. He tried to support her as she toppled over, and they ended up in a heap on the floor. "Buffy! What is it?" George asked, "Dad!?" He looked to his father, but he knew no more than his son.

            "All the voices." Buffy gasped. "So many voices." She had only experienced something like this once before- when she had been telepathic for a short while earlier that year.

            "Buffy, I don't hear anything…" George said. Buffy shook her head, and bit down on the pain. She pushed George away, and stood up, 

            "It's ok, I'll be fine." She said stiffly. Again she walked to the door, and through it, into a huge circular room, with rows of benches all the way round like an amphitheatre. At the bottom of the theatre-shaped room was the source of the voices- a stone arch hung with a black, fluttering veil. Buffy slowly descended the steps, looking around at the flashes of images that came to her. This building, so full of magic, channelled simple feelings into full-blown visions for the slayer. To her right she saw hundreds of people piled into the room- witches and wizards, all looking down to the centre, where, now that she looked, there was a man dressed in grey being dragged towards the arch, screaming. The men dragging him didn't even seem to hear the wails of terror, or, for that matter, the loud jeers and cheers from the crowd. Buffy felt sick. An official looking wizard was saying something to the struggling man, before someone pulled back the veil, and the man was thrown through the arch, and disappeared. The image faded, and Buffy's wide, starring eyes fell upon the two Weasley's, who were looking worriedly at her.      

            "Let's do this an' get out of here." She said thickly. So they continued down to the arch and stood before it.

            "What now?" George asked, "Oh, bloody hell…" He jerked again, and said, "You'll have to hold the veil back- just as this building will not let me out, that veil blocks the portal. And I can't even move it myself." Buffy nodded, and held back the heavy black cloth. She nearly fell over again at the sudden blast of voices, but held herself steady until George's body flopped again, and rush of air told her the spirit had gone. Mr Weasley supported his son, while they and Buffy watched nervously. For a horrible moment, nothing happened. Then the arch began to shake, and the voices got louder. Buffy dropped the veil and stepped quickly back.

            As suddenly as it had started, the shaking stopped. The voices returned to normal level, and Buffy's heart dropped- _it has to have worked!_ She thought, _for Harry's sake, it has to!_  

            Suddenly, the veil bellowed out, and a limp form fell through. The veil slipped back off him, and Buffy crouched beside his still form. She gently turned him on to his back, and felt a smile steal onto her face. 

It was him.

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*grins* I know, I'm evil, right?

Please review!


	23. Sirius Back

Whoa! Damn you people rule!! Over 30 reviews for one chapter!! Crikey. Wow. You rock! 

Thanks to the people who say they did happy dances at that last chapter…

C.s- here ya go, new chap up now.

Erro- But I wanna biscuit. L

Laura- Ha ha ha. :D *grins* but new chap now, so no more angrys, right?

JaneGirardiRove- Buffy's official name as far as the wizarding world is concerned will be Anne Lily Potter, for various reasons im not gonna explain for other various reason ;) , but of course many people will just call her Buffy. 

Again you must all go read witchlight, Becks89 and Shooting Star19, and bug SS19 to update NOW!! Ive bugged her at school, and got other people to bug her at school, but I think we need some help!! 

Woohoo! Half term. Week off school! YEY!!

And now on with the chapter! *grins*

_Previously:_

            Suddenly, the veil bellowed out, and a limp form fell through. The veil slipped back off him, and Buffy crouched beside his still form. She gently turned him on to his back, and felt a smile steal onto her face. 

_It was him._

Chapter 23 

            "Sirius." Mr Weasley gasped. The man on the floor was deathly pale. His skin was drawn tight about his bones, and his hair was long, black and limp. 

            "He's alive." Buffy told them. "But we have to get him out of here."

            "We can get him to Saint Mungo's." Mr Weasley said.

            "But what about Fudge?" Buffy asked.

            "He'll be difficult, but we have no other choice. Dumbledore can convince him."

            "He doesn't have time for Dumbledore to talk to Fudge!" Buffy exclaimed. 

            "There is nothing else we can do!" Mr Weasley cried. "George, go to Dumbledore. Apparate up to the corridor, I have a feeling you wont be able to apparate above the spirit barrier. Use floo to get to Dumbledore, and tell him to come here right away."

            "Tell Dumbledore what to do?" George said, a little shakily.

            "He will understand. Go." Mr Weasley snapped. George nodded, and disappeared with a 'crack!' Then Mr Weasley waved his wand, conjuring a stretcher beneath Sirius. Without another word, he and Buffy headed back up the side of the room, with the stretcher floating behind them. Once back in the door room, however, they stopped. Buffy held the door open, and frowned, 

            "Erm, how do we know which door to go through?" She asked. Mr Weasley's only reply was closing the door, ignoring her protests, and then disappearing as the doors spun. When the room stood still again, a door opened, and Mr Weasley smiled at the slayer, proud of his idea. Buffy nodded, "Yeah, yeah, you're great." She murmured, and left the dark room with him and the stretcher. 

            In the corridor above, before the lift, Buffy was worrying.

            "Isn't Sirius still believed to be a murderer?" Buffy asked.

            "Erm, yes. I'm hoping that Dumbledore will turn up any moment now."

            "Great." Buffy sighed. The lift clattered down, but when the doors opened, she was confronted by the last thing she had expected; Fudge, with ten other wizards, all armed with wands. 

            "Minister." Mr Weasley said, as confused as Buffy was.

            "Mr Weasle…" Fudge began, but was cut off by the sight of Sirius. "Is that… how?" He gasped, stepping out of the lift, followed by his armed guards.

            "We just saved him from a spirit realm on the other side of the veil." Buffy said simply, "He needs medical attention."

            "He needs dementor attention." One of the wizards said with disgust.

            "He is innocent." Mr Weasley snapped.

            "Some of Dumbledore's stories I am willing to accept." Fudge said, "But Sirius Black is a dangerous murderer, and the Potter's had only _one_ child."

            "Huh?" Buffy exclaimed- Fudge had seemed to accept her identity, what had changed?

            "Miss _Potter_, these gentlemen are here to escort you to a holding cell until we have proof of your true identity, no doubt you're a dangerous criminal too."

            "Huh!?" Buffy cried in disbelief.

            "Minister Fudge, you really…" 

            "You ought to keep out of it, Arthur." One of the guards said, stepping forwards and pointing his wand right at Mr Weasley. 

            "You're crazy." Buffy decided. "I'm Lily and James Potter's daughter, I was born when they were 17, and they gave me up for adoption. My name was changed, and I…"

            "Save it." Fudge said, suddenly a lot braver with his men around him. He pointed his wand at Buffy, the end of it only inches from her nose. Buffy was now definitively pissed off. Without changing her tone or expression, Buffy said,

            "Minister, with all due respect, I suggest you get that stick out of my face before I do it myself and replace it somewhere _else._" 

            "Aha, you are threatening me, that simply proves what I have been…"

            "That wasn't a threat." Buffy interrupted him, "It was a promise."

Fudge spluttered wordlessly, but managed to get the idea across, and his men surrounded Buffy, who rolled her eyes. "Sirius needs to get to a hospital." She told them again. "Get out of the way, and let us help this man!" It was taking every ounce of self control she had to not lay the lot of them out.

            "Come quietly and no one will get hurt." Fudge said with a nasty smile.

            "Well of course no one will get hurt if I come quietly." Buffy snapped, "But I'm afraid that's not the issue. If you don't stand aside and let me through, _that's_ when someone's gonna get hurt. And just a hint? It's _not_ gonna be me."

Fudge was furious- how could she continue to defy him when she was clearly out numbered? He had had enough.

            "Well if you refuse to come quietly…" He said, "Bring her." Buffy rolled her eyes again as the guards advanced.

            "One more warning." Buffy said, just before the first one tried to grab her arm. She span away, grabbing his arm instead and throwing him aside easily. "Oh well." She conceded. Then two came at once. One got a foot in the stomach, the other a fist in the face. Buffy barely even made an effort, knocking away wands when they dared try to use them, and with a few more elbows, and shoves, the elite team were cowering on the ground. "Like I said, we need to go." Buffy said to Fudge. She nodded to Mr Weasley, whose mouth and eyes were as wide as the minister's. Buffy grinned, "What? You think three years on the hell mouth does nothin' for ya?"  

"Wha...wha…Miss Potter, I…" Fudge babbled.

"The name's Buffy." Buffy snapped. "Now get out of my way, you pathetic little man. Sirius needs help, and _you_ sure as hell aren't gonna stop him getting it."

"But I… he… fine. But I'm coming with you." Fudge eventually replied sulkily. Buffy cast a sideways grin at Mr Weasley, and they all stepped into the lift with the stretcher floating behind them. 

When they came out at the entrance hall of the ministry, it was only moments before George and Dumbledore apparated metres from them. Dumbledore looked a little more flustered than usual, and Buffy couldn't help grinning at the thought that she had managed to shock Dumbledore _again_.

"Buffy?" He asked, looking at Sirius' motionless body.

"He's alive, just about. We have to get him to…"

"St. Mungo's, yes." Dumbledore agreed.

"St. Mungo's? Now look here Dumbledore, this is a dangerous murderer…" Fudge once again attempted to stop them.

"No he is _not_." Dumbledore said firmly, "How many times must I tell you, minister? This man is no murderer. He needs help, now."

"An' like I said, with _all due respect_, you are _not_ stopping him from getting it." Buffy told Fudge. The slight whimper that Fudge gave caused an amused twinkle in Dumbledore's eye as he imagined what Buffy had probably done.

"So, to St. Mungo's then." Dumbledore said.

Not all that long later, Buffy was sat beside a bed in a private room of the hospital. Healers had been bustling around, administering potions, but Buffy, Dumbledore and the Weasleys had been told that what Sirius needed most was rest and nourishment. 

Buffy studied the man's thin, drawn face, and knew that even without everyone's reassurance, she would have known that this man was a _good_ man. A very good man. Even unconscious she could feel his great heart, though it was sheathed in so much darkness and sadness too. From everything Harry had told her, she felt as if she knew Sirius already, and desperately wanted him to wake. In part she simply wondered if he would know anything about his leading role in her dream back in Sunnydale. Suddenly the memory of the dream, plus the act of sitting by a comatose patient in a hospital made her think of Faith again, and a tear came to her eye- why was everything in her life so hard? Why did everyone who meant something seem to get hurt? She folded her arms on the edge of the bed, and rested her head on them, silent tear that few others would ever be allowed to see, flowing freely. 

Mr Weasley and George had gone back to the Burrow to get Harry and tell everyone the news, though they had been ordered by Buffy not to tell Harry what was going on until she saw him. Dumbledore had gone back to his office to talk to colleges and arrange the more complicated part of the situation. 

Buffy didn't know how long she had been there, but her head snapped up quickly when she heard Sirius moan. His eyes moved beneath their lids, and he moaned again, as if stirring.

"Sirius?" Buffy said quietly, wondering how she, someone he had never met would explain anything if he woke up now. "Sirius?" She repeated, a little louder. An unconscious frown wrinkled his forehead,

"Lily?" He murmured, barely audibly. Buffy gasped, unable to say or do anything. She just starred at him- he'd called her by her mother's name… no, not necessarily, she told herself, it could just be coincidence… he's unconscious, it's probably just murmurings…

Buffy jumped when someone knocked on the door. It took her a moment to work out what the noise had been, but when she did, she saw Mr Weasley's face at the window in the door. She went to the door, and slipped out, not opening it enough for Harry, who was with Mr Weasley, to see in.

"Hey Harry." She said.

"Hi. What's going on? Why are we at the hospital?" Though he didn't say it, Harry had thought for a horrible second that Buffy had been hurt.

"Calm down, ok?" Buffy said, unable to help a smile, "It's a _good_ thing."

"What?" Harry asked impatiently, "Did you figure out that ministry thing?"

"Yeah, I did." Buffy replied, "See… there was this spirit causing all this trouble, and it turns out it came from the other side of the veil when someone was forced through from _this_ side. So putting the spirit back bought back what went through." Buffy said, all very quickly. Harry frowned,

"So?" He said. Buffy rolled her eyes,

"I thought _I_ was meant to be the slow one." She said witheringly. Harry just frowned at her, his forced acceptance that Sirius was dead and gone preventing the truth from setting in his mind. Buffy smiled softly and said, "He's back, Harry; he's alive."

Harry's frown evolved into a look of bewildered dawning,

            "He's…?" He gasped.

            "Right in there." Buffy replied. "He's unconscious, he's in a bad state… but he's alive."

Harry looked to Mr Weasley, convinced Buffy was playing with him.

            "It's true." Was all he said. Buffy opened the door and let Harry in. He walked slowly, as if in a dream, for that was all he could believe this was- Sirius _couldn't_ be alive. Everyone had told him so. Harry looked around the small room. Sunlight was streaming through the window, brightening the white walls, which surrounded the lone bed. Harry swallowed, scared to look directly at the figure lying upon it. Buffy stood just behind him, knowing how he felt- she too had dealt with the return of someone whose death she had been forced to convince herself she accepted, even though she never would have. 

            Harry took a deep breath, and stepped forward, finally looking upon the face of a man he had never expected to see again. He froze, his breath catching in his throat, and his heart skipping a beat.

            "He's alive." Harry murmured. He looked over his shoulder at Buffy, "He's alive! He's friggin alive!" He cried. Buffy choked a laugh

            "Yeah he's alive." She hugged Harry tight as he threw himself at her. When they came apart, Harry was smiling,

            "You did this." He said seriously. "Thank you." Then he turned, and went to Sirius' bedside. He shook his head in wonder, "He's alive. Sirius is alive."

-------

:D Review please!!


	24. Awakening

Hey guys! New chappy for ya. Thanks for all your reviews, I love you lot!

Sammi- Here ya go, new chap, now u can go bug them lots and lots, yeah?

Kick a** warrior woman- One last time, THIS WONT BE BUFFY?ANGEL!! Sorry, don't mean to be rude or anything. Just so many people have asked, and Ive said soo many times. Angel might show up at some stage, but he will NOT be getting back with Buff. This is just after S3, so they just did the big meaningful breakup. NO buffy/angel.

Becks89- sorry hun, u weren't the 650th.

Rose-Riddle3223- whoa, big review. I don't know who harry will get with. Dawn wont be showing unless I do a sequel, cos this is set in season 4 time. Angel… see above. But Faith! Yey, shes my fave too, hint-hint.

Scruffy Wes- I know the whole dropping the Summers name is a little mean, but in the wizarding world she will be known as potter for safety reasons, ull see in this chap. In SunnyD, everyone knows her as Summers tho, obviously.

Miz- Ew, gross, no Sirius/Buffy.

All go read Becks89, witchlight and shooting star19 (and bug SS19 to update of course) They rock.

Here ya go, blabbering over-

Chapter 24 

            For several days, Harry refused to leave the hospital in case Sirius awoke. So Buffy stayed with him. Nothing the Weasley's or Hermione, or even Dumbledore said could convince the siblings to return to the Burrow. Buffy agreed that Harry needed proper rest, not sleeping in a chair in Sirius' room, but Harry was adamant, and she wouldn't leave him. 

On the fourth day, Harry was exhausted. He sat at Sirius' side, his friends around him, as during the day they insisted on spending as much time there with him as possible. Now and again Sirius would stir, sometimes thrashing around too; but he would not wake. The Healers told them that Sirius would be in a sort of mystical sleep until his body was rested enough to cope with normal processes. 

"Wonder who'll be Defence against Dark arts teacher this year?" Ron said, trying to keep up normal conversation.

"Other than Harry?" Ginny teased. Harry smiled weakly,

"Hope it's someone decent." He said.

"I think pretty much _anyone_ will seem decent after Umbridge." Hermione commented.

"Too true." Ron agreed.

"Hey! I know, Buffy, you could do it!" Harry exclaimed. Buffy choked on her coffee,

"What?!" She cried.

"You could be the DA teacher!"

"Or not." She replied, "Cos, y'know, don't know a single spell, or like anything about the subject, _plus_, just got outta school, and me? Buffy babble- babbling makes bad teacher… see?"

The group laughed, while Buffy blushed slightly, "You need to learn to knock a someone flat in a couple of moves, I'm your gal; but like _school_ teaching, with essays and books, nuh-uh. No thanks." She confirmed.

            "A physical combat teacher wouldn't be a bad idea, considering the situation now." Hermione said thoughtfully.

            "Yah, cos Dumbledore is gonna _love_ the thought of me teaching you to _brawl._" Buffy countered. Sirius moaned, gripping the sheets beneath him. Buffy bit her lip, crossing the room to the side of the bed, "God… I just wish he would wake up." She said softly. A frown creased Sirius' unconscious face, as he said for a second time,

            "Lily?" It was merely a whisper, barely audible, but they all caught it, and looked at Buffy, who was as shocked as before.

            "Lily?" Harry said, "He thinks you're mum." 

            "He's unconscious." Buffy corrected. "He can't hear me… it's just coincidence that he says that when I'm talking."

            "_Says_?" Hermione repeated. 

            "Yeah, like talky." Buffy said witheringly. Hermione rolled her eyes,

            "I _mean_ you said 'he says that' rather than 'he _said_ that', as if he's said it before."

            "Oh. Well, uh, yeah… he… well, when I was waiting for Harry… and… he… yeah…" Buffy mumbled.

            "He called you Lily then too?" Harry questioned. Buffy winced, but nodded. "Why didn't you tell me?"

            "I guess I was a little freaked out, and as he didn't say anything else… I didn't want to freak _you_ out, or make you think he was gonna wake up soon or anything."

            "Why do people never tell me things?" Harry snapped.

            "Harry…" Buffy gasped, unsure how what she'd done was so wrong.

            "All last summer, and earlier, about Sirius and my parensts… and now _you!?_ Does everyone really think I'm a total psycho, who can't be trusted with information?" Harry ranted.

            "Harry!" Buffy cried, "That's ridiculous! I didn't want to worry you, and then with everything, talking to the doctors an' all, it slipped my mind, jeez!" Buffy snapped back, "You gotta calm down, Harry. You _need_ rest."

            "I don't need rest, I'm not a kid."

            "Even the strongest people need to sleep, Harry, don't be silly." 

Hermione Ron and Ginny felt rather awkward, as if they were encroaching on this sibling row.

            "Look, you don't know how I…"

            "Don't even _start_ that again." Buffy told him firmly, "I know how you feel, Harry, I've been there, remember? Don't shut me out, _please."_

            "I don't know when he's going to wake up, or even if he _will!_ He could…" Harry continued.

            "Like I said. Been there." Buffy replied calmly, "In fact- _am_ there."

            "You don't even know S…" Harry trailed off as he looked in his sister's eyes and saw her true meaning. Harry dropped his gaze, unable to keep the eye contact when he realised how selfish he was being, how irrational…_again_. "Sorry." He sighed, "I guess I am a little tired." Harry admitted, "Got a bit of a headache actually."

            "Urgh…not the only one…" A strained voice put in. All five spun to the bed, where Sirius had a hand to his head.

            "Sirius!" Harry cried.

            "Hey, hey, not so loud…" Sirius protested.

            "Sorry! But… you're awake!" Harry said in an excited whisper. 

            "Apparently…"

            "Yey, hey Sirius." Hermione said, grinning.

            "Welcome back, Mate." Ron added. Ginny just grinned, not knowing Sirius quite so well, and Buffy just stood back, not really sure what to do, but glad to see Harry so happy.

            "I can't believe you're really back." Harry said.

            "Yeah… can I ask how I'm back?" Sirius asked. He finally moved his hand, opening his eyes properly to look wearily up at his god-son. "Not that I'm complaining…"

            "It's cos of Buffy." Harry told him.

            "Huh?"

            "Buffy- she worked it out, she saved you." Harry said as if this explained everything.

            "He's never _met_ me, Harry." Buffy said. Sirius started, trying to sit up,

            "Lil…?" He trailed off on seeing Buffy. "Sorry… I could have sworn….

            "See!" Harry said to Buffy. She stuck out her tongue.

            "I'm Buffy." Buffy introduced herself, coming forwards, "Who I am is a bit of a long story, but I guess you need to know…"

            "You're American." Sirius said.

            "Er, well, yah, kinda…" Buffy began.

            "I didn't notice before, I suppose because it was just short bits of sentence…"

            "You heard her when you were asleep, didn't you?" Harry said. Sirius flushed a little,

            "I thought she was Lily- sounded like lily."

            "That's understandable." Hermione said. Sirius frowned, giving up on his attempts to sit up. Harry bit his lip in worry, and then just came out with it,

            "Buffy is my sister, Sirius. My parents had a daughter they didn't tell anyone about."

            "She's…? You're…? Really?"

Buffy shrugged, 

            "Really am. They gave me up for adoption cos they were still in school, and I grew up with a muggle family. I didn't know about any of this until I found out about my family about a month ago, and _then_ I found out about Harry." She smiled at Harry, and even in the few seconds he'd known Buffy, and simply from that one look, Sirius knew that Buffy loved her brother, and vice versa. He knew that she was genuine, and that she would protect Harry with her life.

            "Can't believe that bastard didn't tell me." Sirius said of James Potter. Buffy smirked, and Harry chuckled,

            "Good to see that a few months in a spirit realm doesn't change a guy too much." He commented.

            "Where was it?" Sirius asked, "That's what I couldn't work out… A spirit realm? What do you mean by that?"

            "This is gonna take a while." Buffy sighed. "So- I'm gonna need more coffee. Anyone want?" Buffy got orders, and left the room.

            "Are you all right?" Sirius asked Harry softly.

            "Yes." Harry replied genuinely.

            "I know you went there because of me… I just…"

            "Sirius, I thought they were hurting you, how could I not?"

            "By using your head!" Sirius snapped, "I want you to promise me you'll never be _that_ stupid ever again!"

            "He really is back." Harry said drolly.

            Now that Sirius was awake, Harry was able to be convinced to return to the burrow that night. He went to bed right after dinner, finally realising how tired he really was. Buffy however, found herself restless. They had told Sirius her full story, except for the slayer detail as she and Harry had decided that the hospital wasn't the best place to mention it in case someone was listening. Talking to Dumbledore whilst Sirius was unconscious, he had been very certain about the fact that revealing her slayer identity to the wizarding world at large was a bad idea. It would make people uneasy to hear that a powerful legend was actually a very real eighteen year-old girl. Plus, Harry had added, Voldemort knowing of the location of a slayer couldn't be good either. He might target her, or try to use her. Overall, it was decided that Buffy would have to be secret identity girl again. Of course they would tell Sirius, but it could wait.

            Now Buffy was tired, but just thinking about Voldemort stirred up bad guy tinglings in Buffy's slay-centre, and she was suddenly very aware of the lack of slaying in the past week. Damn, she thought, a week. She and Harry had only been in England for a week. It seemed so much longer, at the same time as a week sounding like ages… it was half their time in the Burrow, already gone. Buffy sat on the edge of a picnic table in the garden, looking round at the dark landscape and up at the twinkling stars.

            "Am I intruding?" A voice asked. Buffy looked over her shoulder, and smiled at the bright 'G' sweater. 

            "Nope." She replied. George came to sit beside her.

            "So you really did get Sirius back, huh?" He said.

            "Couldn't have done it without you." She replied.

            "All I did was do exactly what I was told not to, and…"

            "Funny how that sometimes works out as the best thing to do, isn't it?" Buffy chuckled.

            "Yeh, yeh I guess it is." George said, smiling wryly. "You definitely made it interesting around here." He continued after a pause.

            "Adventure and often danger seem to follow me round like puppy dogs, so yeh… interesting, or, y'know, life threatening, all the same to me." 

            "Right." George laughed. He paused again, studying Buffy's face, "Do you just not sleep then?" He asked.

            "I sleep. Sleep is _good_. But only when I can actually get it." Buffy told him with a sigh. She shivered, "Its getting cold out here." She said, wrapping her arms around herself. Very hesitantly, George reached an arm around behind her, and held her gently, sharing his own body heat. Buffy shivered a little more at his touch, and just as tentatively, leant in against his shoulder. "Thanks." She murmured.

            Buffy didn't know how long they'd just sat there together, but eventually they both shifted, and she said,

            "We should both probably try to get some sleep."

            "Yeah." He agreed.

            "Yeah." Buffy said, standing, but she made no other move to go inside. George stood too, and they just looked at each other. Buffy's mouth felt dry, and she found her eyes flitting from his own down to his lips more than once. He stepped awkwardly forwards, and the air between them almost crackled with energy. They each leant in, Buffy's mind begging for time to speed up, for their lips to touch. She could taste his breath on her lips, so close… Buffy stopped, turning her head aside in irritation at her self. She sighed,

            "I'm sorry…" Buffy looked back up into George's dismayed eyes. "I… I gotta think stuff through…" She said. "I… I'm sorry." She turned quickly, walking quickly to the back door, "I'm sorry." She murmured. George watched her leave, unable to say a thing. When she was out of sight, he kicked the table leg,

            "Stupid!" He cried, "Stupid, stupid…!" Before sitting heavily down on the bench, head in his hands.

* * *

Ah, angst, don't ya love it?

Please review!!


	25. Dearest Daughter

Heya guys! Have I mentioned how much you rock!?   

Hm, no questions to answer this time, just lots of Awwing, and 'ur so mean'-ing. *grins* I'm not complaining.

So you must all read this new chapter, and then go read witchlight, Shooting star19 and Becks89's stories, and tell becks that all my reviews aren't cos of her promoting me. I swear her head just keeps on swelling… *grins*

On with the chapter…

  Chapter 25- Dearest Daughter 

            For the next couple of days, Buffy took Harry to see Sirius, but they didn't spend all day there. They did things with Hermione and the Weasleys, playing quidditch and wizard chess among other things. Buffy tried her best to act normally around George, unsure of what else she _could_ do. 

            On the Wednesday (school would begin on the next Monday) they all received their Hogwarts letter with new book lists and any extra potions ingredients they would need. Buffy too received one, signed personally from Dumbledore, which said that if she would like to study some magic during her stay at Hogwarts, then she too would need some books and equipment- a list was included, and Buffy started getting rather excited. Mrs Weasley declared that she was going to go to Diagon Alley and would get their stuff if they wanted, but if anyone else wanted to tag along, they were welcome.

            "Oooh, that's the shopping place, right?" Buffy said excitedly. Hermione and Ginny grinned, while all the boys rolled their eyes.

            "I will _never_ understand it." Fred said.

            "Girls are barmy." Ron agreed.

            "You coming?" Hermione asked him. Ron shrugged,

            "Ok."

            The group going shopping assembled before the fireplace, that is, Harry, Buffy, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, the twins and Mrs Weasley. Buffy groaned,

            "Oh not again." 

            "Don't worry." Harry said grinning, "You'll be fine."

            "Yeah, George'll catch you again if ya fall." Fred laughed. 

            "Yeah." Buffy said half-heartedly, not looking at George. He too just forced a smile and looked away.

            "I'll go first." Hermione said loudly to break the tension. She took the powder, threw it in the fire and said, "Diagon Alley." Very clearly. Ginny and Ron followed, then the twins, Harry, and then it was Buffy's turn.

            "Ok, England, England, England." She chanted to herself. She stepped into the green flames and cried, "Diagon Alley!"

            When Buffy stopped moving, she carefully opened her eyes, though she hadn't realised she shut them. Harry was grinning at her. 

            "Thank god." She breathed, and stepped out of the way moments before Mrs Weasley appeared in the fireplace.

            "So, where to first?" Buffy asked everyone, wrinkling her nose at the sight of the pub they were in. Harry grinned,

            "_I_ think we should get your wand first." He said.

            "Oooh, this idea has potential." Buffy agreed, "Oh, but, erm, money would be good."

            "Mum an' Dad left me a huge safe- money is covered." Harry told her.

            "Oh. That's ok then." Buffy said, but her brother didn't miss the disappointment in her voice.      

            "I'm sure it was meant for you too." He added. Buffy smiled thankfully,

            "I was never meant to know they were my parents, Harry. The money was meant for you." She said. "I have some cash I can change- I'll set up my own account even! An' then in the _very_ distant future, when I get a job, I will soon be just as rich as my lil' bro."

            "Buffy…"

            "Shut it. _So_ not sympathy time- shopping time!" Buffy smiled widely, and Harry couldn't help laughing,

            "Gringotts it is then."

            The group split up, all going in different directions to different shops. Harry and Buffy agreed to meet Hermione Ron and Ginny outside Ollivander's in an hour- they wanted to see Buffy's first time with a wand. Buffy scowled as they all cracked up laughing,

            "I'm gonna be _good_ at magic!" She protested. "I _am!_"

As Harry and Buffy walked up the steps to Gringotts, Harry chuckled again, and Buffy thumped him.

            "Sorry!" He cried, laughing harder.

            "You're a git." Buffy decided.

            "Thanks."

            "I'm glad you're… whoa! What is _that!?"_ Buffy cried. Harry stopped laughing- the goblin who'd just walked out of the bank didn't look to happy.

            "That would be a goblin- they run the bank."

            "Oh… Well… erm, Hi." She said with a hopeful smile. The Goblin made a clucking noise that reminded Buffy way too much of Giles, and walked off. "Good start." Buffy murmured. Harry grinned,

            "Come on."

They went inside, Buffy gaping at the huge room and the large numbers of Goblins weighing piles of gold. Harry led her to a desk, where, once she managed to actually speak, rather than making fish impressions, she said,

            "I… I'd um…"She cleared her throat, "I'd like to open an account, please."

            "Yes? Name please?" the goblin replied.

            "Buf…" Buffy caught herself, and thinking _secret identity gal, dumbass_, she said, "I mean, Anne Lily Potter."

            "Right…" He flipped through a huge ledger to a page on which Buffy could see names beginning with 'P'. "Potter, Potter… Here we are, squeeze you in… hm."

            "What?" Buffy asked.

            "Anne Lily Potter? As in, daughter to J. Potter and L.Evans?"

            "Er… yeah." Buffy said, astounded.

            "But you already have an account."

            "I do?"

            "Of course. For eighteen years… opened by your parents… if I read this correctly, a month after your birth." The goblin looked up at Buffy as if she was very inconsiderate to not know this.

            "Oh." Buffy said. "Erm… do I have money in it?"

            "Of course." He didn't seem about to tell her how much. Buffy was shocked. She starred blankly at the page of the book, where numbers were constantly changing all on their own.

            "Erm, then… could I make a withdrawal?"

            "You have the key?"

            "The… but I just… I didn't even…" Buffy the almighty vampire slayer was _very_ confused. Harry smirked,

            "We don't have the key." He said, "We didn't know the account existed."

            "Humph."

            "Is there any other way we can get at the vault?"

            "The vault cannot be opened without the key." The goblin said impatiently, "And we don't know that the account is yours if _you_ don't have the key."

            "But…"

            "What is the problem?" Asked a gritty voice, another goblin; this one looked older, and even less patient.

            "This young woman asked to create an account she already has, and then asked to withdraw money even though she doesn't have a key."

            "Name please?" The elder goblin asked. Buffy sighed in frustration,

            "Anne Lily Potter." She said.

            "Potter?" He repeated.

            "Yes. Potter." She snapped back, "Apparently my parents set up an account when I was a kid- I didn't know about it til now, so I don't have a key!"

            "Well of course you don't."

            "I don't! I didn't… huh?"

            "We have the key. Your parents left this and gave orders that if you ever came looking for it, we were to give it to you." He waved a small envelope he had pulled from nowhere.

            "Oh. I see."

            "Of course we must check that you are who you claim." The goblin said.

            "Yes… I …how?"

            "Drink this." He passed her a tiny vial of potion. Buffy grimaced,

            "What is it?"

            "A test. Drink it."

Buffy shrugged, and drank it in one.

            "Well that was gross." She said. "Now what?"

            "Please state the name you were given at birth." The goblin said.

            "Anne Lily Potter." Buffy replied, "I already…"

            "And your parents names at the time of your birth?"

Buffy frowned,

            "Lily Evans and James Potter. I said that, I…"

            "Ah, then you are who you say you are."

            "Huh?"

Harry grinned, he loved it when Buffy got so confused.

            "I think the idea is that you could only say your true name, and your real parents names after taking the potion."

            "Oh. Cool."

            "Here is your letter- the key is within- Griphook will take you to the vault."

            "I'd like to go to my vault too, please." Harry added, "I'm Harry Potter"

            "Of course, you have your key?" Harry handed it over, "Griphook, take them to the vaults please." The siblings followed the goblin, but Buffy was concentrating on the envelope in her hands.

            "You gonna open it?" Harry asked.

            "Yeah… it's just a little wiggy, y'know? It's all I have from my parents."

            "It looks kinda lumpy, I think there's more than just the key and a letter in there."

            "Yeah." Buffy murmured as they followed Griphook through a door into a steep stone passageway lit with torches. "Creepy." Buffy commented. They climbed into the cart, and it headed off at break-neck speed. Buffy seemed unaffected. She carefully opened the envelope, and tipped two things onto her hand. One was the vault key, and the other was wrapped in white tissue paper. She looked at Harry, but he shrugged, he didn't know what it was. As they twisted and turned through the narrow passages, Buffy gently unwrapped the tiny package, and found a small, oval, silver locket. Down the centre the initials 'A.L.P' were carved in intricate design. Buffy's breath caught in her throat. "Wow." She gasped. Harry squashed closer to get a better look as she opened the locket. Inside, on one side was a picture of James and Lily standing together, grinning and laughing, and waving to Buffy- tears came to Lily's eyes; and on the other side was a picture of Lily holding a baby in her arms, tears of joy and sorrow flowing freely. 

            "It's you." Harry said.

            "Yeah." Buffy replied, barely able to control herself for the tremors going through her body.

            "You ok?"

            "Yeah." She repeated. Buffy sniffed, and wipes tears away, smiling at her brother.

            "They knew some day you'd find them." Harry said.

            "I guess so."

            "They look so young."

            "Only seventeen." Buffy murmured. Suddenly, a huge jolt reminded them they were in the Gringotts cart- it had just stopped.

            "Here we are." The goblin said. They clambered out of the cart and he waddled over to the vault door right before them. He opened it, and Harry grinned widely at the shock on Buffy's face,

            "This is all yours!?" She cried.

            "Yup."

            "Whoa…"

            "You have your key, miss?" Griphook asked.

            "Yes…" Buffy handed it over, and he went to the next vault along.

            "Huh- your vault's right next to mine!" Harry exclaimed.

            "Apparently." Buffy followed Griphook, preparing herself. When the door was opened, she almost collapsed.

            "Bloody hell." Harry said. There was even more money than in his. "I guess your interest rate must be good... and its had eighteen years to build up…"

            "Uh-huh…" Buffy murmured. She wandered into the vault, eyes and mouth wide. "This is mine? You're sure this is mine?" She asked the goblin. He just nodded brusquely. "Damn." She said, then she chuckled, looking at Harry, "Our 'rents were loaded!" 

He laughed too,

            "Yeah, apparently. Come on, get yourself a load- enough for shopping, and, you gotta get some extra for Hogsmeade- you _have_ to come to Hogsmeade."

            "Ok ok, I… how does this work again?"

            "Big gold ones are Galleons, silver ones are sickles, little bronze ones are knuts. Seventeen sickles to a galleon, twenty nine knuts to a sickle."

            "Why?" Buffy moaned, "Ok, lets do this." She started piling coins into the little leather pouches on the floor, "That be enough?" She asked Harry. He shrugged, 

            "Probably, you can come back any time, so yeah."

            "Ok. Cool- you got yours?"

            "Yup."

            "Lets go then."

So they got back into the cart and the goblin closed the vaults. Buffy stuffed the pouches of money into her shoulder bag, and turned her attention back to the envelope. This time she just pulled out the letter, leaving the locket and key safely inside, and putting the envelope into her bag.

            "Ok, letter." She murmured, "Lets see…"

Our Dearest Anne,

            We are all too aware that you may never read this, but it is our hope that someday you will learn of your true family, when the wizarding world is safe again, and we are older, more able to care for you the way you deserve. We leave you this vault key so that should something happen to us, we shall still be able to support you in some way; and this locket so we will always be together. 

            I hope, my darling child, that your new family care for you well, and that you are, above all else, happy. I wish we could have been there for you. If you are reading this, then you must recently have discovered the world of magic and all that it holds. I pray that it does not scare you, and that although no one knows about you- we were afraid that if anyone knew, you might be hurt, or, though it now makes me feel so selfish, that we might be reprimanded for having a child so young, and lying to so many- we hope that you are accepted, and that you will find a place within our world. Only your Aunt Petunia knows of your birth, my dearest, Lily could not keep it from her. This has been hard on your mother- know that we both love you with all our hearts, and we pray that someday we will meet again.

            James has said all I can think to say, dear Anne. I could barely bring myself to let go of you, though I knew it would be better for you. I love you forever, I hope you have grown up contentedly, away from the pain and evil that presently fills our world. Take care, my child. You will forever be in my heart.

            With love, 

                        Your parents,

                                    James Potter and Lily Evans.

                                                                             XXX

Another jolt announced the end of their journey, and Harry had to help Buffy out of the cart- her legs felt weak, and her mind was incapable of venturing from the words on the single page. She staggered through the door with her brother, and leant against the marble wall, tears trickling down her tanned cheeks.

            "Buffy?" Harry said quietly. He too had read the letter over her shoulder, and at first felt a stab of jealousy which he immediately quashed, knowing it was stupid and irrational. "Buffy, are you alright?"

            "I'm fine." She replied quietly. She blinked a few times, and looked around, seeming shocked to realise they weren't in the cart anymore. She folded up the letter, and put it back into the envelope. Then she took out the locket, and put it on, "What do you think?" She asked Harry. He nodded, smiling,

            "Looks good." 

            "Come on, I wanna get that wand." She said, grabbing his hand, and dragging him out.

----

Please review!!


	26. Dont kill the shop keeper

Bonjouro people. I'm in a good mood due to not-so-awful Bio mock exam, and I won the quidditch world cup!! (ps2game) 

To everyone who queried it, Fred and George aren't going to see Buffy getting her wand cos George and her are all awkard a the mo due to the almost, not quite, nearly kissage. And Fred sticks with George. Sorry, I thought that would be clear. Oops. Hope that clears it up!

Pheonix83ad- I get what you mean about the paper trail, but the Goblins are meant to be really secretive, aren't they? And no one would get anything, info or otherwise from Gringotts if they weren't meant to, would they? So I think it'd be safe for the potters to set up the account.

Chancing Faith- Presuming much!? Thanks for your wand prediction, but I only have one word for it I'm afraid- wrong. :P

All go read witchlight, shooting star19 and becks89's stories!!  And Becks wanted me to say that her head doesn't actually inflate, its normal head size. (but my reviews still aren't cos of you, becks!) Irritating thing is we keep thinking of the same ideas. I think its cos I'm psychic and I'm projecting them accidently into her head. Most logical explanation. ;)

So, yey, this is a longer chapter, hope you like my idea…

Chapter 26- Don't kill the…erm, shopkeeper 

            When they reached Ollivanders, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were waiting.

            "Sorry, took longer than we thought it would." Harry apologised. 

            "No problem, mate, we were late too."

            "Shall we?" Hermione said, grinning.

            "You guys are mean." Buffy moaned, but she followed Harry towards the shop entrance. She looked up at the sign over the door, which read 'Ollivanders: makers of fine wands since 382 BC.' and then through the dirty windows at the single wand on a faded purple cushion. "Classy place." She murmured. Inside, the shop was dark, and reminded Buffy of the Sunnydale school library- it smelt like musty old books. Rows and rows of narrow boxes lined the shelves, and Buffy couldn't actually see any source of light, though the place was not very dark. It was very creepy, and gave Buffy tinglings on the back of her neck, just like Harry had got the first time he came here. She had a bad feeling about this.

            "Good morning." Said a soft voice. Buffy stiffened, and Harry frowned as he saw her reach for what he knew was hidden in her waistband.

            "Good morning Mr Ollivander." Hermione said politely.

            "Ah, Miss Granger, Mr Weasley, Mr Potter, and…" He frowned, "Interesting…"

            "_What's_ interesting?" Buffy snapped. None of them could understand her sharp tone.

            "You are the slayer." Mr Ollivander replied.

            "Bingo." Buffy said, and pulled out her stake.

            "Now now, there's no need for that." Ollivander said, his eyes widening a little.            

            "You're a demon." Buffy said.

            "Buffy!" Hermione cried, "Of course he's not a…"

            "Ah, yes I am, my dear." He corrected. "How else would I read people to know what wand is likely to suit them?"

            "Oh."

            "Yes. But I mean no harm, slayer. I am a mere wand maker, I have been for many many years, or did you not see the sign?"

Harry frowned, he'd presumed that the sign had meant that Mr Ollivander's _family_ had been making wands since 382BC. Apparently not. Buffy was still scowling.

            "How do I know I can trust you?" She asked.

            "Dumbledore does." Harry told her. At this Buffy faultered, she knew Dumbledore saw more in people than most.

            "Ok." She said reluctantly, putting away the stake, "But you don't tell _anyone_, got it? No one can know who I am."

            "Of course." Mr Ollivander said. 

            "Good. Now, wand me."

            "You are a witch?" He asked, a little surprised.

            "Well duh."

            "Sorry, just… slayers do not traditionally train as witches."

            "I heard."

            "The council forbids it."

            "Well I quit the council, ok?" Buffy said impatiently, "They're a load of stuck up bastards who enjoy power and don't care when they hurt people if it helps them."

            "I couldn't agree more. This does make my job much easier, however." Mr Ollivander said. He went to a corner, and pulled down a thin black box that looked untouched for a very long time. He opened it, and held it out to Buffy. In the box lay a long thin wand. It was deep red-brown, almost the colour of old blood, but livelier. The end was tapered much more dramatically than Harry's, almost to a point. Buffy reached out, and picked it up. She felt warmth flood through her, a feeling of belonging.

            "Give it a wave." Mr Ollivander said, almost jumping with excitement. Buffy did as she was told, and red sparks flew from the wand, crackling like fireworks. Harry and the other clapped and whooped,

            "Go Buffy." Harry said. But she wasn't listening. She was looking at Ollivander, "This was made for a slayer, wasn't it?" She asked.

            "Yes, it was. Mahogany, 12 inches, with a core of Pheonix tears- a very powerful substance."

            "Why did she never get it?" Buffy asked, for she knew the girl for whom this was made was dead before she even laid eyes on it.

            "The council forbode it." Ollivander sighed. "Her watcher decided that she would benefit from magical training- that it was only fair that she should have it to aid her. He asked for this wand to be made, the tears came from his own phoenix. But the council discovered what he was doing…"

            "They took him away from her." Buffy said bitterly.

            "Yes; and they returned the wand to me before she ever got it."

            "And she died soon after, right?" 

            "Yes."

            "It was their fault. If she'd still had him, she wouldn't have died."

            "That is likely."

Buffy gripped the wand in fury,

            "How could they?" She cried, "Those bastards."

No one else knew what to say. Once again Buffy had tears in her eyes, the loss of a girl she had never known wrenching at her heart. "How much?" She asked stiffly, wanting to get out of this place.

            "Ten galleons." Mr Ollivander said quietly, very aware of the point at the end of her wand. Buffy handed the money over, and laid the beautiful wand back in the box, putting the box in her bag. 

            "Let's go." She snapped to Harry.

            "Are you…"

            "Fine, Harry. I'm fine." They left the shop without another word, and wandered to other shops, getting what they needed, including some brightly coloured robes for Buffy and all their new school books, equipment and potions ingeredients. All morning, none of them could really think of anything to say that didn't sound awfully trivial. Again Hermione was hit by the truth of a slayer's life.

            The group had lunch at the leaky cauldron, then Mrs Weasley and the twins headed home, taking the others' shopping; and Buffy, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny went to the Hospital to see Sirius. Buffy and Harry told him and the others about the letter from her parents, and showed them the locket.

            "James always did have class." Sirius said happily.

After about an hour, Buffy decided to go on a drinks run, and Hermione went with to help with carrying. She couldn't help but notice that Buffy was very withdrawn, and she worried for her.

            "Are you alright?" She asked while they waited in the queue.

            "People ask me that _way_ too often." Buffy replied, "I'm fine."

            "You don't look fine." Hermione persisted. "Is it the whole wand thing?"

Buffy sighed, realising that she wouldn't get around Hermione.

            "A bit… I guess it's lots of things… so much has happened recently, Sirius, the letter from my parents, the wand thing, George…" The last slipped out before she could stop it. Hermione grinned wryly,

            "What about George? I notice you two acting weird this morning."

            "Nothing about George." Buffy said unconvincingly. "Nothing at all, I…" Hermione just raised one eyebrow. Buffy grimaced, "Crap. Look… nothing happened, it kinda almost did, but it didn't. It's too complicated right now."

            "Why?"

            "Why? Cos it is! He's Harry best friends brother, and, and… complicated!"

Hermione chuckled,

            "Look, if you like him, and he likes you, just go for it. You're here for like a week more, if you don't try it, you'll never know. He's a good guy, I can tell you that… an' I think it'd be sweet."

            "You don't think Harry would think it was weird?"

            "I think Harry would be happy to see _you_ happy." Hermione assured her.

Buffy smiled,

            "I guess it wouldn't hurt to just see." She said.

            "Course not." Hermione agreed.

            So that evening, when they got back to the burrow, Buffy was just waiting for the right time. After dinner, she followed her quarry outside, and said,

            "Hey."

            "Oh, Buffy, hey." He replied.

            "It's warmer today." She commented awkwardly.

            "Er, yeh." He replied, pulling off his sweater, today lacking a bold coloured letter.

            "So…" Buffy began. "I've been thinking things through, and I figured… you know, maybe… maybe there _could_ be something between us."

            "Excuse me?"

            "Y'know, you and me." Buffy said.

            "You and… Buffy, not to be rude, but I don't see you that way."

            "What?" Buffy exclaimed. He raised his eyebrows, as if shocked at this response.

            "Buffy, sorry if I gave you reason to believe I did… but I didn't mean to…"

            "You _what!?_ You were the one… I can't believe you! What, a girl doesn't jump on you the second you make a move, so you just bail and pretend nothing happened to humiliate her? That's sick! God, I can't believe I… ugh!" She actually stamped her foot, and stormed back inside, ignoring his splutters. A moment later, he followed suit, and not seeing Buffy anywhere, he went through to the sitting room, and slumped down beside his twin, who immediately asked,

            "What's up?"

            "Women are insane." He replied.

            "Why do you say _that_?"

            "Buffy."

            "Buffy?"

            "Yeh. She just came on to me!"

            "Buffy came on to you?" His twin exclaimed.

            "Yeah! Completely out of the blue, and when I told her I didn't see her that way, she totally freaked!"

            "Oh."

            "You ok George?" He asked, seeing his twins distraught expression.

            "Fine." His twin replied, clearly not.      

            "George, mate, don't you think that's really weird, her just throwing herself at me like that?"

            "Yeah, really weird. Look, I'm tired, I'm gonna go to bed." George said. He stood up, and headed up stairs. He dropped onto his bed, starring at the ceiling, "Well." He said to himself, "At least I know now why she wouldn't kiss _me_."

            Buffy had stormed right through the house to her room, and slammed the door. She knew she was acting like a spoilt child, but the truth was she had really liked George, and only didn't kiss him because of how complicated things were at the moment. It hurt deeply that he would play her like that.

            "Buffy?" Hermione called through the door, knocking lightly.

            "Yeah? Come in." 

She did, smiling sympathetically.

            "What happened?"

            "I told him that I thought maybe we had a shot, and he totally denied anything ever happened- said he didn't feel that way. It was like he was trying to make me feel as bad as possible for bailing on him the other night."

            "Oh my god! I can't believe he would do that!"

            "I didn't think he would." Buffy said quietly, then she chuckled, "I really liked him."

            "I get that… he's funny, sweet, not bad lookin'…"

            "So what about you and Ron?" Buffy asked, changing the subject quickly. 

            "What!? Me and… you're kidding, right?"

            "No." Buffy scoffed, "He like, totally adores you."

            "Yeah right."

            "What? He does- tell me you didn't notice the fact that he was insanely jealous when you were with Krum?"

            "That's crazy! An' how would you know?"

            "I could just tell when he was _talking_ about the ball. And I _know_ you like him."

            "I do not!"

            "So you're just doing an impression of a tomato then?"

            "Shut up."

Buffy grinned. It was nice to have a girly friend around- sure she'd never expected to see Hermione as a girly friend, but she seemed ok once you got to know her. Buffy immersed herself in teasing Hermione and planning ways to get her together with Ron- anything to keep her mind off George.

---------

            Next day, Mr Weasley was to take Harry to the ministry for his apparating training and test. Buffy decided to go too, wanting to see if he would splice himself, which she insisted would be very funny. Harry didn't agree. They used Floo again, ('god I wish _I_ could apparate' Buffy said) and had to register their wands at the security desk. Buffy proudly handed hers over, before replacing it in her trousers pocket. Harry chuckled, knowing how this would infuriate Moody.

            Mr Weasley took them to an office marked 'Apparation control' and knocked. A tired looking wizard with wispy grey hair opened the door,

            "Ah, Arthur. Good morning." He let them into a large room with only one desk in the corner. "This must be Mr Potter."

            "Yes." Harry replied.

            "I'm Thomas Grimy, Apparation officer."

            "Hi."

            "You ever tried to apparate before?"

            "No."

            "Good. Right… erm, who is this?" He looked at Buffy.

            "Oh, I'm his sister." Buffy replied.

            "His…?"

            "Long story. Anne Potter." She shook his hand, and he shook his head, clearly astounded.

            "So, ah, are you taking the test too?"

            "I've never done any wand magic… but I'm willing to try. If I get soot in my hair one more time…" She whipped out her wand eagerly.

            "I'm afraid that wont be possible without some magical experience, Miss Potter- it's a difficult procedure." He said.

            "Drat." Buffy said, pouting.

            "So, Mr Potter. First of all, we must practise. First time round, an incantation will be necessary. After that it's really a state of mind, you must be able to picture where you want to appear, and will yourself to be there… the incantation helps you to find that. So- the incantation is 'Apparatus'"

            "Apparatus?" Buffy scoffed, fiddling with her wand. 'Pop' Buffy re-appeared on the other side of the room. "Well that's interesting." She said.

            "Very interesting." Agreed Mr Grimy. Harry was doubled over laughing.

            "Shut it, you." Buffy snapped, but smiled, "Sorry about that- I really didn't mean to…"

            "That's alright… maybe I could make an exception, you seem rather a natural."

            "Ooh yey." Buffy grinned.

            "Cheater." Harry murmured. Buffy elbowed him, but they both turned their attention to Mr Grimy.

            "Right. The wand is merely needed to channel the magic to start with. Simply hold it before you, think of this circle," He drew a large red circle on the ground a few feet away with his wand, "And say the incantation. Mr Potter."

            "Here goes." Harry said, "Apparatus." He disappeared with a bang, and apparated about a foot outside the circle.

            "Good! Good, very good for a first time. Miss Potter?" Buffy tried again, and she too just missed the circle. They practiced for a while, the circle getting smaller to test accuracy, and Mr Grimy talking them through the complications of apparating further distances, and then getting them to apparate to the entrance hall, or the small yard them showed them through the window. Satisfied that they could do this with no trouble, he turned to the slightly more worrying task of apparating much further, sometimes even to places you have never seen. He taught them how to picture the place in their mind, and hold the name of the place firmly in order to take them selves there. He told them that there was a special facility owned by the ministry in Yorkshire. This was the big whammy. He told them that they must apparate there, and that he would follow to make sure they had got there. If they hadn't… well that was another matter. Both Potters manage it, and passed the test with flying colours. ('Yey, told you I'd be good at magic' said Buffy) Mr Grimy gave them each a license, which appeared from a drawer despite the fact they'd had no pictures taken. Harry was shocked at how easy it had been, especially since until the year before witches and wizards had to be going into seventh year to take the test, rather than sixth. But hey, he wasn't going to complain.

----

About the apparating thing… I made a mistake about the age you can do the test, but hey, mistake now changed into change of law, so ha! Artistic license an all, right?

Please review!!


	27. How to say goodbye, properly

Heya people!!! Once again I have to say that you guys rock my world! I have never had this many reviews- I'm very flattered.

Jedi Buttercup- Well I guess the money would have stayed in Gringotts. Maybe it seems wasteful, but its not as if harry didn't have enough, and they had to do it just in case, yknow?

Everyone who commented on the whole Buffy/George dealio- sorry! But it was sooo fun to write. I love angst.

Anyway… you may like this chapter. 

YEY! It's my birthday on Monday (17!!) So lots of review shaped presents please?

All go read Becks89, Witchlight and Shooting star19's stories. They are wicked. 

Yey. I love this chapter, so read on…

Chapter 27- How to say goodbye, _properly_

            The rest of the week, the teenagers were mostly split into two groups, the twins cut off from the rest because neither one wanted to get too close to Buffy; George because he felt utterly rejected and rather embarrassed that he hadn't realised Buffy liked Fred, not him; and Fred because he very simply thought Buffy was a mad woman. This was fine by Buffy. She and Hermione made a point of avoiding them too, and the other boys just couldn't figure why. Ginny caught on pretty quick though, and took the girls side, of course. 

            The night before they were to leave for Hogwarts, chaos reigned in the burrow. Teenagers were running round the house searching desperately for lost books, socks, and quills. Buffy tried to keep out of the way. She sat on her bed, reading Harry's Defence Against the Dark Arts text book- she found all the mystical creature very interesting, and thought it very amusing when certain 'mythical' creatures turned out to be demons she had met. She found that a huge number of the creatures in the book had different names, but were basically the same as ones she had heard of as demons, and noted that she should tell whoever it was that ended up as defence against the dark arts teachers a little more about some of these, 'utterly harmless' beings. 

            Buffy was shaken out of her concentration by Harry's irritated voice coming down through the floorboards,

            "What the heck did I do with it?" He cried. The she heard him running down the stairs, and minutes later, coming back up. She stuck her head out of her door,          

            "What you lost?" She asked

            "My DA text book. I've looked everywhere for it!" He moaned. Buffy grinned sheepishly,

            "Erm, this one?" She asked, producing the book.

            "Buffy!" He exclaimed, snatching the book back, "Have you had it this whole time?"

            "Erm, maybe."           

Harry shook his head in disbelief,           

            "You are so lucky were cant use magic out of school."

Buffy stuck out her tongue,

            "I just borrowed it- my one's all beginners crap- boring… plus I finished it three times over."

Harry shook his head despairingly, and went back upstairs. Buffy sighed, "Right, so what do I do now?" She said to herself. She decided to get some fresh air, and headed outside. It was a clear, warm night, and Buffy wandered up the hill at the back, looking up at the stars. She sat on a tree stump in the grove on top of the hill, thinking about all the stuff that had happened over the last two weeks. And now, tomorrow, she was going to Hogwarts. She would finally see the huge castle, and find out if it lived up to what Harry and the others had been saying. The sound of footsteps snapped her out of her reverie, and Buffy looked up sharply. Through the tree came George, in one of his 'G' jumpers.

            "Oh." He exclaimed on seeing Buffy. "Sorry." He turned to leave, and Buffy found herself with only a second to make a major decision.

            "George, wait." She said.

            "What?" He asked impatiently. Buffy clenched her teeth, determined not to freak again.

            "Look, about the other night… I'm sorry I freak out. I guess I just misread signs, and… I screwed up, it wasn't fair to yell at you like that." Half of her really wanted to object to this, but Buffy had decided to smooth things out. She didn't want to leave things as they were. But George said,

            "Huh?"

            "The other night." Buffy said, "You know, when I came to you, and said I'd thought stuff over, and you said you didn't like me like that, and I freaked cos I thought you made it clear you _did_…" So much for not getting angry.    

            "Buffy… stop." George said, "You didn't say those things to me. You said that to Fred."

            "No I did not! Why would I say it to Fred!? That's crazy, I…" She trailed off, thinking back. _No letter on the sweater._ George was cracking a smile, "That would explain a few things…" Buffy said thoughtfully.

            "You thought he was me?" George asked tentatively.

            "Erm, apparently." She said, wincing, "Oh I can't believe this… he must think I'm insane!"

            "Yeah, pretty much."

            "Oh god!" Buffy laughed. "I'm such an idiot!"

            "Don't worry about it, even Mum gets confused sometimes."

            "I'm so sorry." She said.

            "I already said, don't worry." He looked at her oddly, "So… if he told me that you came on to him… but you thought it was me, then you…"

            "Yeah." Buffy said, sobering.

            "So you…?"

            "Yeah."

            "We…?"

            "If you're still interested."

            "Well of course I am." He replied. Buffy felt heat rushing to her cheeks, and she grinned, finding herself walking towards him, as he approached her.

            "It wont be too complicated?" She said quietly, "I mean, I'm leaving tomorrow."

            "Then we'd better sort it out quick, huh?" He said. Buffy smiled,

            "I guess so."

Once again, they were right before each other. Buffy could taste his breath again, and it gave her a tingling feeling of recognition. But this time she didn't turn away. This time they met, and Buffy felt herself melt against him. His fingers entwined in her hair, her arms around him, and her mind reeling with discovery. They came apart slowly, both smiling. "I think we can probably manage." Buffy shrugged.

            "Yeah. Somehow, I think we'll work stuff out."

            "Yeah. Later."

            "Later." He kissed her again.

-------------

            The next morning, even half asleep, Hermione could tell something had happened. Partly it was the fact that Buffy _wasn't_ half asleep, despite it being eight in the morning- in fact, she was positively hyper. But it was more than that- Buffy was radiating contentedness. The moment Hermione saw her chance, she slipped into Buffy's room, where she was re-rechecking that she had everything.

            "So? Spill." Hermione said grinning.

            "Spill what?" Buffy asked, completely unconvincingly. Hermione cocked her head to one side,

            "What happened!?"

Buffy couldn't help grinning,

            "I'm an idiot." She laughed, "I… I got them mixed up."

            "Huh?"

            "Fred and George. When I meant to tell George that I'd thought stuff through… I told Fred instead. _That's_ why he acted like nothing had happened."

            "Because it didn't!" Hermione gasped. Then she laughed, "So…"

            "So last night, I talked to the real George, and I realised what I'd done, and _he_ realised that I'd said those things and meant them for him… and… We kissed." She blushed, and grinned widely.

            "Go Buffy!" Hermione squealed.

            "Ssh!" Buffy giggled. "Haven't you got school books to find or something?"

Hermione giggled, now well on the way to matching Buffy's hyperness, and left the room again. 

            It wasn't long before Mrs Weasley was calling up the stairs for them to hurry, and they were all lugging trunks down, except Buffy, who insisted on still using her suitcases and bags. Dumbledore had convinced Fudge to allow them a pair of ministry cars to get them to the station, and Buffy was amazed at the size of the boot.

            "I swear that's not natural." She whispered to Harry. He rolled his eyes,

            "Cars aren't natural, Buffy."

            "You know what I mean!"

They got everything in, and piled into the strangely large cars, Mr Weasley in one, Mrs Weasley in the other, and the teenagers split between along with a spitting cat and two squawking owls. Buffy found herself (oh what a surprise) next to George, who along with Fred had insisted on coming to see them off. Harry and Ron were with them, and Hermione Ginny and Fred in the other car. Harry and Ron thought it very strange that George opted to go with them rather than his twin. _Really_ Buffy thought _boys aren't the quickest, are they?_

 As they skipped to the front of queues and raced through the streets to Kings Cross station, Buffy decided that she would have to get herself one of these cars… and learn to drive.

            "Or you _could_ just apparate places." Harry reminded her.

            "Oh yeah." She said thoughtfully, then shrugged, "Hey look, we're there."

The large group clambered out of the cars and began unpacking luggage from the boot. Buffy was half way through unloaded Harry's trunk (on her own, even though Mr Weasley and Fred were having difficultly with Ginny's trunk) when someone touched her shoulder and said,

            "Let me help you with that." 

            "Lupin!" Buffy cried, "What are you doing here?" He helped her unnecessarily to get the trunk onto a trolley, and smiled,

            "We wanted to see you off." Tonks replied, appearing beside Lupin.

            "Tonks, Professor Lupin! Hi!" Hermione cried, and the others added greetings as Moody and Kingsley turned up too. They entered the station, muggles shooting them odd looks due to the two owls and the adults odd clothes. As they gathered around the barrier between platforms nine and ten, Buffy felt a tug on her arm. George grabbed her, and pulled her behind a near by pillar. She giggled,

            "What?"

            "Just wanted to say goodbye." He grinned, "Y'know, properly."

            "Oh really? Well I don't have a clue what you mean." Buffy said, a smile playing on her lips.

            "Really? Then I think I need to teach you."

            "Teach away." She replied. 

            "Well," He began. "You put your arms here…" He placed them round his neck, "And I hold you like this… and then…" He trailed off, just gazing into her eyes, and kissed her gently, but passionately.

            "I think I could get used to that." Buffy breathed as they came apart.

            "Buffy? George? Where have they gone?" Mrs Weasley's voice reached them. Buffy heard Hermione snort a laugh, and rolled her eyes.

            "Right here." Buffy said, stepping out.

            "Me too, Mum." George added, from the other side.

            "Oh, good, such a big group its hard to keep track." Mrs Weasley sighed.

Buffy grinned, damn she was good. They went through the barrier in small groups, and when Buffy's turn came up, George was suddenly at her side.

            "Let me show you how it's done." He said in a gentlemanly manner.

            "Why thank you kind sir." Buffy said, playing along. George held out a hand, and she took it, and they each held one side of the trolley.

            "Now, walk carefully," But she caught the glint in his eye as he suddenly tugged and they both fells through after the trolley. They emerged from the other side laughing, and Buffy said,

            "You're an idiot."        

            "Thank you, thank you."

            "Bloody hell." Buffy gasped. She didn't even realise the phrase she had used for gaping at the huge red steam engine before her. Harry was grinning,

            "Didn't I tell you it was cool?" He said excitedly.

            "Hey! Harry!" Someone called. Harry waved back, and Buffy followed the group as they headed up platform nine and three quarters. Students called greeting, several calling to Lupin as well- Buffy could see he had been very popular. 

            They found an empty compartment, and started getting on board. Lupin helped carrying on trunks, and Buffy noticed there was one more trunk than there had been on leaving the burrow. The other members of the order who had helped got off, and Buffy looked at Lupin,   

            "You not getting off?" She said. He grinned,            

            "Of course not. I'm coming too." He replied.

            "What?" Most of them cried.

            "Professor…" Hermione began.

            "Dumbledore asked me to return." Lupin told them. "I couldn't say anything until now because until yesterday it wasn't certain, Dumbledore had to do a lot of negotiating."

            "That's brilliant!" Harry exclaimed.

            "Thank you Harry."

They could hear the guards coming down the carriages checking doors, and all called goodbye to the group left on the platform. When the nearest guard was two carriages away, George yelled, 

            "Hey, Buffy!" From the door. She went to the steps at the open door, and said,

            "What?"

George grinned- he didn't care who was watching. He stepped up onto the first step, and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her deeply. Buffy reciprocated, and they could hear whoops and yells all down the train, and some from the platform- friends of George's who'd come to see off family. 

            "See you soon." George said.

            "Bye." 

The guard cleared his throat impatiently, and George jumped down, grinning at his gaping family, and Buffy stepped back inside. Ginny and Hermione were cheering, Ron was bright red, and Harry just looked shocked. Lupin was smiling wryly. A whistle blew, and they gathered round the window, waving and calling good bye until the people on the platform could no longer be seen.

--------

If any of you are noticing similarities with Becks89's story with Lupin revealing that hes gonna teach, at the train station- it was my idea first! I didn't copy. Not saying she did either, but I swear I'd written it before she posted hers!!

Review please!!! (birthday prezzie!?) Please!!! *grins* :D


	28. The Hogwarts Express

Heya people, sorry this one is a little later than usual- ff has been a little weird this week as I guess some of you noticed. I finally managed to read all your reviews last night, though they still weren't sent to me as usual… or rather, a couple were many many times- Silver Warrior, thanks for your review, I got it _at least_ 20 times. Lol. I _really_ hope they sort it out!! Anyway, I still couldn't log in until today, so that's why im updating now!

Oh! And thanks to all of you who wished me a happy birthday!! Ur so sweet.  And on that subject, musicgirl141- I'm seventeen. Damn that sounds weird. I'm seventeen. Seventeen… sounds so much older than sixteen…

Hm, yeah…

Brokenskye- as I've said, I know the author alerts etc haven't been working, but I think they may be back online now- everyone cross ya fingers!!

Phoenix83ad- Buffy is going to Hogwarts cos she wants to learn a bit of magic, and she's still not sure about leaving Harry. No, using magic wont make her weaken hr slayer abilities… it'll be addressed in the next couple of chapters, but Buffy is well aware of the dangers of fully relying on magic- she's not about to turn her back on physical defence, don't worry.

Anne-Janet- Buffy is calling Lupin Lupin cos that's what all the students call him so that's the name she's come to know him by. And hey, she calls Giles Giles, not Rupert.

Whoa, now on with the chapter…

Chapter 28- The Hogwarts Express 

            They all sat down, and Buffy blushed as they all starred at her. Hermione was still grinning madly.

            "You and George?" Ron managed to say.  

            "Er, yeah." Buffy replied.

            "Since…?" Harry asked.

            "Last night." Buffy shrugged. She studied her brother's face carefully, "Are you mad? Do you think it's weird?" She asked nervously. He looked shocked,

            "No. No way." He cracked a genuine smile, "It was just a bit of a surprise."

            "I'll say." Ron added, his eyes still wide.

            "Ron, you are so naive." Hermione snorted, "You're actually in shock because your brother kissed someone!"

            "How come I get the feeling you two knew about this?" Harry asked of Ginny and Hermione.

            "Because we're not boys." Ginny scoffed, "We don't walk around with our eyes closed. How can you not have noticed that they liked each other?"

Harry shrugged, and the girls laughed.

            "Boys." They said in unison.

            "If you don't mind, I'm going to go find the prefects compartment- Dumbledore somehow talked me into sorting out the new prefects…" Lupin said less than enthusiastically. 

            "See you later Professor." They said, and he left. 

            "How long does this take?" Buffy asked.

            "Most of the day." Harry told her. "First thing when we get there is the start of term feast."

            "Cool- I think I'm getting to like the wizarding take on food." Buffy laughed.

            "Never exactly a shortage." Hermione agreed. This was when the door opened, and two people walked in. Buffy didn't know them, but everyone else smiled,

            "Hi Neville, Hey Luna."

            "Hi." Neville replied. Luna Lovegood just smiled, then her eyes fell on Buffy, and she said to Harry,

            "You know, girls in our year are throwing around rumours that you have a sister."

            "Really?" Harry asked, "Already?"

            "During the holidays too… something to do with a … oh, what's it called?"

Ginny was grinning,

            "An internet site. My friend owled me about it."

            "That's it! A weird thing muggles use to send messages. Someone said they were your sister."

Buffy laughed aloud, and Harry blushed, remembering what she'd told him.

            "They're girls in Ginny's year?" Buffy chuckled, "Harry, they all worship you!" 

Ron guffawed with laughter, and Harry looked annoyed. Luna looked at Buffy oddly. 

            "Luna Lovegood." She said, holding out a hand.

            "Anne Potter. But call me Buffy." Buffy shook her hand, "I'm Harry's elder sister."

            "Harry, how come you never told us?" Neville exclaimed.

            "Cos I didn't know 'til this summer." Harry told him, "Neither of us did."

            "Oh."

            "Nice to meet you." Buffy said, shaking his hand, "I heard lots about you two."

            "Oh!" Hermione exclaimed, "Did you hear the other things that's probably flying about as 'rumours' now?" she asked Neville and Luna.

            "About Sirius?" Neville asked excited.

            "Yeh!"

            "It's true then?"

            "Yeah!"

            "Oh my god! He's come back as a flesh eating zombie!?" Luna cried.

            "Oh, erm, no." Hermione said, grimacing.

            "But he is back." Harry said, "He's alive."

            "That's great!" Neville said. They all agreed, of course, and the two new comers settled into seats, chatting about their holidays. Buffy looked around- this was the group who had risked their lives going to the ministry only months ago. They looked like regular teenagers, but as Buffy knew all too well, looks could be deceiving.

            Just after midday, a witch came round with the lunch cart, and they bought a huge selection of wizard sweets, cakes and other foods Buffy had never tried. They were just settling into their miniature feast when the door opened to reveal a less pleasing sight.

            "Well well, it's Potter and his super-freaks." The blond boy drawled. Buffy didn't need to be told that this was Draco Malfoy. His flunkies were no doubt Crabbe and Goyle. 

            "You're not welcome here, Malfoy." Harry snapped.

            "Yeh, bugger off." Ron agreed.

            "Well that's not very nice." He said. Buffy raised one eyebrow, looking the boys over appraisingly. From all the stories Harry had told her, she'd thought Malfoy might be taller.

            "I don't think we've met." She said, interrupting his next insult. He was shocked, apparently not having noticed Buffy until she'd spoken. Hermione and Ginny shared a look as Malfoy looked Buffy over, and swallowed.

            "Draco Malfoy." He managed, holding out his hand.

            "Anne Potter." She replied, taking his hand and squeezing a little harder than necessary. They all saw him wince.

            "So it's true." He said stiffly, "The rumours; Potty has a sister."

            "It's true." She replied. Goyle and Crabbe were sneering at her, so Buffy smiled back- a smile that could have frozen fire. The huge boys found themselves unable to meet her gaze, and had to look away. Malfoy had an odd smile on his face,

            "See you around." He said to Buffy.

            "Guess so." She said. He hesitated and moment more, before turning and walking off, snapping,

            "Crabbe, Goyle." They followed, pulling the door closed as they went.

            "He nearly crapped himself." Ron said gleefully.

            "I'm not so sure." Harry said, "Crabbe and Goyle nearly ran away… but Malfoy looked oddly…"

            "Appreciative." Hermione finished. They all turned to her- she was almost laughing, "He's totally fallen for Buffy."

            "No way." Buffy scoffed. But Harry was grinning too,

            "That could have been it, actually." He said, "He got hit by the Buffmeister."

            "No, if he'd been hit by the Buffmeister, he'd have gone through that window." Buffy corrected. Harry laughed,

            "You know what I mean."

            "You really think?"

            "Definitely." Ginny agreed.

            "Oh my god." Buffy laughed, "Oh my god."

            When it began to get dark outside, they all began changing into their uniforms, and Buffy put on her new bright red robes. When the boys were allowed back in (the girls had kicked them out of the compartment while they changed), Ron blinked several times, and said,

            "Harry? Could you help me to my seat? I think Buffy's robes blinded me." They all laughed, and Buffy pouted,

            "Well _I_ like it." She said sulkily.

            "So do I." Hermione agreed. "I can't wait to see Snape's face!" They all cracked up, the thought of Greasy haired, never worn anything but black Snape confronted with Buffy's _very_ red robes. 

            "He'll like me even more." Buffy said dryly.

            "I don't get Snape." Neville said, surprising them all, "He's meant to be trying to make amends, right? But he goes out of his way to be as foul as possible to as many people as possible! I don't understand it."

            "It's simple, Neville." Ron said, "He's a git."

            "Yeah. He terrified me in first year." Hermione recounted, "But after a while… he just… the whole king of darkness act gets a bit tired."

            "I know what you mean." Buffy agreed.

            "Yeah… You know I did fine in my potions OWL?" Neville said, "I got an A. It's just cos he's always there in lesson, y'know? He scares the crap outta me."

            "You should just ignore him Neville, show him what your worth. He's just a prat." Harry said encouragingly.

            "Yeah, yeah I think I will." Neville said.

            "Good for you." Luna put in from behind a magazine. Buffy said nothing more on the subject. She agreed that Snape seriously needed an emergency pole removal, but she also knew that chances were underneath it all Snape's rage at everyone else was at least something to do with _self-_hatred. She knew what memories of past actions you'd rather forget could do to you. And she knew it was possible to fight those memories, and the feelings they created. She couldn't help feeling that it must be possible to somehow get through to Snape… because if she gave up on him, she would be giving up on someone else too.

            The train slowed, and Hogsmeade station came into view. Buffy felt butterflies in her stomach as they all piled out of the train, leaving their luggage to go separately. A booming voice called,

            "Firs' years follow me! Firs' years… All right Harry?"

            "Hey Hagrid!" Harry and his friends called back.

            "Whoa." Buffy commented.

            "C'mon, you have to meet Hagrid." Harry said. He grabbed her hand and pulled her through the crowd of students, until they reached the largest man Buffy had ever seen.

            "Hagrid, this is Buffy." Harry said.

            "Oh, er, Hi." Hagrid said, a little confused. He shook Buffy's hand, trying to be gentle, but he found quite a grip in the small fist.

            "She's my sister." Harry said quickly as Hagrid started off with the first years. The half giants eyebrows flew high, as expected, but the flow of first years carried him off.

            "We'll talk later!" Hagrid bellowed back.

            "That was mean." Buffy said. Harry shrugged, 

            "Fun though." He then led Buffy to where the carriages stood waiting. 

            "Cool horses." Buffy commented. Hermione was stroking one even though she couldn't see it, while Ron was poking it, pulling his finger quickly back every time he felt solid animal where he couldn't see it. 

            "Weird." He said.

            "What's weird? Stop poking it!" Buffy said.

            "They're only visible…" Harry began.

            "Only visible if what?"

            "If you've seen death." Hermione finished.

            "Oh." Buffy winced, "I remember- the thestrals, right? So you…?"

            "No." Hermione said, "I can't see them, but I rode on one last year, so hey." She shrugged. Buffy nodded in agreement, but then chuckled,

            "Didn't Ron ride one too?"

            "Yup." Hermione said witheringly. They climbed into a carriage, and started off up to Hogwarts. When Buffy saw the huge castle, towering over the rolling lawns, the dark, serene lake and the vast forest, she said,

            "_Bloody_ hell." For the second time that day.

            "Oh Buffy." Harry teased, "You're becoming English again." 

            "Am not!"

            "What, so your saying that's a bad thing?" Hermione said in mock threat.

            "No… I… urgh, leave me alone." Buffy moaned. 

They left the carriages at the top of the long drive and Buffy just went with the flow of students heading for the huge doors. She got some rather odd looks from many of them, but she barely noticed. Harry kept pointing people and things out to her, and she was completely engrossed in everything that was Hogwarts. 

-----

Hm, what do ya think? I was a little worried about the whole Malfoy falling for her thing- it just happened when I was writing, and I was like. 'where the heck did _that_ come from!?' But it did, so, hm, hope u don't mind.

Oh, all go read becks89, witchlight and shooting star19's stories, they rock!

Crikey I'm in a blabbery mood today! I'm gonna go now.

Bye. Please review!!

-Sam


	29. Home from home?

Heya people- SUPER mega long chapter for you here- take is as a thank you for the incredible number of reviews you guys deliver! (Actually I just could find an earlier place to finish it… but still, I would have tried harder to cut it down if I wasn't in such a wicked mood thanks to all those reviews!)

Note: cos loads of you commented on this- Buffy isn't going to be sorted. She's not going into any house because she's not joining Hogwarts in the regular way. This will be more significant later. *conspiratorial evil grin* So, yeah, she isn't going to be sorted cos she isn't a student, just having a few private sessions with the profs.

Charlie- I gotta say I honestly considered having Snape go for Buffy… but I figured it might be just a little much- its like, buffy walks in and all the guys fall on their knees worshipping her- so no.

Tiger Tiger2- I'm pretty sure Draco is the same guy in the 3rd film.

Danishgirl- Whoa Whoa, on the repeated reviews front, I said I got 20 of the SAME review, and almost as many of other reviews! I was getting hundreds too. Thank god that's cleared up- very irritating when it tells you you have 150 emails, and theyre all the same!!

Claddagh- No way! Buffy will not be getting with Draco. George may be Xanderish, but he will stick by her to the end (trust me).

Hinomi- Sorry that u didn't like the shortness of the last chap, but hey! Look at this one! And Oi about the English woman thing, cos I AM ONE!!

Phoenix83ad-  I get what you're saying about Buffy learning magic, but she just is ok? And its not just to get her to Hogwarts. Shes learning magic because she's going to Hogwarts with Harry and just found out that her parents were magical. Buffy didn't learn wicca cos she's not a wiccan- its not her thing, and wand magic IS different. Anyway, in short? She's gonna learn magic. Like it or lump it! J

Yikes. Ok, Go read witchlight, becks89 and shooting star19s stuff cos they are all very groovy, and now we get on with the wonderfulness that is MY story. *grins* kidding. But do read it…

Chapter 29 

            They went through to the entrance hall, Buffy gaping at the impressive marble staircase, and then on into the great hall. Buffy gasped,

            "Harry…"

            "Isn't it incredible?" He said grinning.

            "It's… wow…" She looked up at the enchanted ceiling he had told her of, and sure enough no difference could be made out between the ceiling and the nights sky outside. Hundreds of candles hovered above the table lighting the room for the myriad of students that swarmed through it. They chatted loudly to friends about their holidays, all fears of Voldemort forgotten for the time being as they were all too glad to be back with their friends, back at Hogwarts. Buffy went with Harry to the Gryffindor table and sat between him and Ron, Hermione and Ginny opposite.

            "This place is _amazing!_" She cried. "I mean, you said it was big, but you never said it was _huge!_ And the candles, and the stairs… the lake! And I bet there're enough demons in that forest to keep me going for months… this is… wow."

            "So you like it then?" Harry chuckled.

            "Totally. Ooh, those all the teachers?" Buffy asked.

            "Yep. You know Snape, of course."

            "How could I forget?"

            "Yeah… Next to him is Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick, Professor Trelawny. You know Dumbledore of course…" Harry went through all the teachers, and Buffy tried her best to take it in, not needing the embarrassment of not knowing who they were. She waved to Lupin, who chuckled and waved back. Dumbledore spotted her, and gestured to a spare seat at the top table. Buffy felt honoured, but smiled and shook her head, mouthing,

            "No thanks, I'll stick with Harry."

Dumbledore smiled in acknowledgment, and the spare space vanished, somehow without leaving a gap, or shifting the rest of the table in any way. 

            Suddenly the hall fell silent as another witch, who Harry informed Buffy was Professor McGonogall, entered the hall, followed by a long line of first years. Buffy found that she was holding her breath- Harry had told her about the sorting ceremony, and she'd been looking forward to seeing how it worked. Professor McGonogall set a three legged stool on the ground before the top table, and on it she placed the battered old sorting hat. Buffy grimaced,

            "Gross… wouldn't catch _me_ putting that thing on."

The hall was now so quiet that you could have heard a pin drop. Everyone starred at the hat. A tear near the brim opened wide like a mouth, as if taking a huge breath, and the hat began:

A hat, you say?

That's all I am?

Yet year on year you call me,

To choose the worthy of the four,

To place them where they more,

Can benefit themselves and others,

Brings skills untold to you.

Who else could perform such a gruelling task,

But a hat,

_The_ hat,

Me.

At the beginning were four,

Great sorcerers,

Great friends,

The best in all the land,

They each were unique,

Outstanding,

So special,

Yet apart they knew they would fall.

They formed this school to teach of their skill,

To train you all as they,

But each was specific, 

Each had their pick, 

Of who, 

Or what,

You should be.

Gryffindor chose the brave and Hearty,

Hufflepuff the loyal and true.

Ravenclaw dwelt on the power of mind,

And Slytherin cunning and grit.

Each to his own, 

The friends agreed,

And they set me down to tell,

Where each should lie,

Where all shall prevail,

But now there's the two as well…

So slip me on, 

I'll tell you all,

Which house shall hold you high;

I'll know your true self, 

I'll help you decide,

For I am a hat,

A very strange hat,

And from me,

No one can hide.

Everyone broke into applause, some cheering wildly, but Buffy could see the almost-frown on Dumbledore's face- this guy was as expressionless as Oz, and it took quite a bit to read him. Buffy knew what had got at him- the bit about 'the two'. No one else seemed to have noticed, so Buffy shook off her weird feeling and grinned at Harry,

            "That was cool." She said.

            "Always is. The charms of a singing hat… who'd have thought?" Harry replied, grinning. The sorting ceremony continued, many new Gryffindors joining the table to the sound of whoops and cheers. 

            Next Dumbledore announced that they were to sing the school song, and Buffy was baffled to find that there was no specific tune, rhythm, or any other musical word she could think of- everyone just did what they felt like, with the same words. Buffy tried to keep up with Harry and Ron's rendition to the tune of 'rupholf the red nosed reindeer' but ended up just listening- and laughing.

            When everyone had finished, (and for some this took quite a while) there came the feast, and Buffy was even more impressed than she had been at the Burrow- there was every different type of food she could have wanted, and no matter how much pumpkin juice they poured from the jug, it never seemed to empty. Buffy finally understood why Harry loved Hogwarts so much. From the food to the atmosphere, it was, well… just amazing.

            After the meal, Dumbledore stood up, holding his hands in the air for silence. He smiled round at the students, taking a moment for all to appreciate the perfect stillness that had fallen.

            "Welcome back." He said, his deep but soft voice carrying right through the hall. "We are here together at the beginning of yet another school year. I'm sure you've all successfully emptied your heads over the holidays, and are eager once more to beginning lessons and learn all you must to get by in our world. 

            Each of you will know of the potentially frightful situation that looms, but I want you all to know also that life at Hogwarts will be no different. This is our home for the school year, and Voldemort [there was a collective wince thoughout the hall] shall not foul it! However, I ask you all to be vigilant, and to remember more than ever that the forest is out of bounds." He paused for dramatic effect, "Now a few notices." He continued normally. "Mr Filch would like to remind everyone that magic is forbidden in the halls between lessons and that the list of forbidden objects is pinned up in his office. He requests that all students refrain from stepping in the Weasley's Swamp as anyone he finds trailing swamp through the corridors will be severely reprimanded." Dumbledore was smiling brightly, obviously finding this particular message very entertaining- it was the most expression Buffy had ever seen him make. "I am glad to announce that Professor Trelawny is once again teaching divination, as well as Firenze, and Hagrid will resume his post as care of magical creatures teacher. [the Gryffindor table whooped and cheered] Also, I welcome back to Hogwarts Professor Lupin as our Defence against the Dark arts teacher. As you all know, there was some controversy about his teaching here, but parents, governors and teachers alike have agreed that at times like these, we simply need the best."

Lupin flushed the colour of beetroot as most of the hall erupted in cheers and applause, none louder than the Gryffindor table. The Slytherin's remained stubbornly silent. Dumbledore waited until the noise died down before finishing, "The last thing is merely to say that all the initiatives put in place last year by Professor Umbridge are hereby annulled, and I personally back the creation of any clubs, as long as you seek permission from your head of house." His eyes twinkled as he smiled at Harry and his friends, and all who had been involved in 'Dumbledore's army' grinned enthusiastically at the thought that the club could continue legally. Dumbledore once again waited for the murmuring to die down before saying, "I'm sure you are all eager to return to your dormitories and rest up for the first day of school tomorrow, so I shall just say good night, enjoy another year at Hogwarts and never forget that gobbledygook is a very useful language."

Everyone clapped and cheered again, all in high spirits from the feast. Buffy smiled softly, knowing for certain that no one had _ever_ been that excitable on the first day of term back at SunnyDale high... and no Sunnydale principal would ever have finished on that note. However, it now occurred to the slayer that she did not know where to go. She was not in a house, she didn't have a dorm, what was she meant to do? Where had all her stuff gone!? She cast around as if expecting someone to appear and tell her what to do- no one did. So she poked Harry,

            "Hey, Harry." She said.

            "Yeah?"

            "Where am I meant to go?"

            "What do you mean?"

            "I _mean_ where do I go!? I'm not in a house, or even a school year… I don't have a dorm."

            "Oh, yeah, I see what you mean…"

            "I'm sure Dumbledore will have arranged something, Buffy." Hermione put in, "Don't worry about it."

            "Come on, I want to show you Gryffindor common room anyway." Harry said. They forced their way through the masses of students, and out of the hall. In the corridors, Harry pointed out specific portraits, many of which greeted him as they walked past. They saw several of the ghosts too, who Harry either warned her to avoid or introduce her to, and Buffy began to feel that she could enjoy life at Hogwarts, and wished her SunnyDale friends could see it. In fact, they would, she decided, they'd have to!

            They reached the fat Lady's portrait, and gave her the new password that Hermione had got off one of the new prefects. 

            "Nice dress!" Buffy told the portrait, before it swung forwards and they climbed through into Gryffindor's domain. "Whoa." Buffy said. "Now _this_ is nice." 

            "Hey! Harry, Ron, Hermione!" Someone cried, rushing forwards. The boy was grinning widely, and also greeting Neville, and then he saw Ginny. "Ginny, hey."

            "Hey Dean." She said, smiling. They embraced, and Ron's eyes flew wide,

            "Oh yeah!" He cried, "Oi! You." He pulled Dean off, and Ginny rolled her eyes,

            "Ron…"

            "No- look, I get that I'm not going to be able to stop this… this… _gross_ thing… but… well, I'm Gin's big brother, and if you hurt her, I'll make you wish you were never born, k?"

Dean swallowed, and nodded. Ginny, however, squealed,

            "Aw, Ron, that's soo sweet!" She cried, and flung her arms around him.

            "Erm, yeah, s'what brothers are for, right?"

Harry and the others smothered laughter, and Ginny finally let Ron go, grabbing Dean's hand and dragging him off to a corner. "Can't believe he's going out with my sister." Ron muttered angrily.

            "Your brother's going out with mine." Harry commented.

            "Yeah… well… that's… that's different."

They laughed, and looked around the familiar room,

            "It's good to be back." Harry said.

            "Yeah. Lessons tomorrow, though." Ron grimaced.

            "It'll be ok. Less subjects now."

            "I can't believe you're taking potions. You're completely barmy, both of you." Ron said to Hermione and Harry. 

            "But then again you knew that a long time ago." Harry replied smiling, "I can't wait for lessons with Lupin again- it'll be brilliant."

            "Yeah…"

Buffy just stood back, feeling a little out of place. She was still getting weird looks, but everyone was too caught up in their own conversations to worry much about the new girl in the bright robes. Soon enough the portrait door opened again, and Professor McGonogall stepped through. She saw Buffy, and smiled,

            "Miss Potter?" She said.

            "Yeah, that's me." Buffy replied, "You're Professor McGonogall, right?"

            "Yes. Dumbledore asked me to show you your room."

            "Oh. Cool."

McGonogall smirked, before saying,

            "Perhaps your brother would like to accompany us, so he knows where you are?"

            "Oh, yeah, Harry?"

            "Yeah? Oh, Professor." Harry gasped- he hadn't noticed her entrance.

            "She's gonna show me my room, you wanna come?" Buffy explained.

            "Oh, Ok." Harry replied simply. They followed McGonogall out again, and a short way down the hall, to a portrait of a handsome, middle-aged man. McGonogall was smiling oddly.

            "This is your door." McGonogall told Buffy.

            "Cool, so close." Buffy said, but she was scrutinizing the portrait, who was looking right back at her with an amused expression. Behind him in the painting was a wall covered with an array of weapons, and a table piled high with books. On the edge of the table was a vaguely familiar thin black box. A wand box. There was a ribbon tied around it. Buffy felt a lump in her throat as she realised who this man had been. "You're a watcher." She said to him.

            "Yes." He replied, smiling contently.

            "Her watcher." Buffy added.

            "Yes." His smile was saddened.

            "I'm Buffy."

            "The vampire slayer." He finished. Buffy nodded silently. "I shall be delighted to guard you as best I can. I commend you for standing up to the council; For succeeding where I failed."

            "Thanks."

            "You shall have a chance to arrange a password with Mr Fairfax later, for now, may we enter?" McGonogall said, directing the last to the watcher.

            "Of course, Ma'am." He replied, and swung forwards. Buffy stepped inside with Harry and the Professor, and gulped.

            "Blo…"She began, but stopped herself, "Wow."

Harry was grinning, he loved that just two weeks with the Weasleys and she could barely help using what she called 'english-isms' which irritated her immensely, mostly due to Spike. 

            The room was almost as large as the main floor space of the Library back at Sunnydale high. The walls were plain stone, but this made it cosy rather than cold. The carpet was thick, rich red, and the wall opposite the door was centred by a huge four-poster bed, hung with red curtains and dressed in red sheets. Buffy's luggage sat in a pile before a built in wardrobe on the right wall, with full-length mirrors on the doors. On the opposite wall was a fireplace, the fire within it crackling merrily despite the fact that the weather was still warm. One corner beside the fire housed a pair of soft looking white sofas, and there was a door on the other side of the fireplace that Buffy was told led to the bathroom. At the foot of the bed was a writing desk with quills and ink and paper.

            "I hope it will be acceptable?" McGonogall said. Buffy did a great goldfish impression, before spluttering,

            "It's wonderful! I didn't expect… wow."

            "I'm glad." McGonogall said smiling. "I'll leave you to settle in now… ah, one more thing," She indicated yet another door at the side of the wardrobe, "That door leads through to the Gryffindor common room. Only you and those you invite shall be able to enter this room through that door- rather like vampires entering houses."

            "Cool." Buffy said, "Thank you. This is really amazing."         

McGonogall smiled brightly- she liked Buffy immediately.

            "Professor Dumbledore asked that I pass on the message that you should meet him in his office after breakfast tomorrow, to discuss arrangements for your tutoring."

            "Great. Ok, thank you." Buffy said. Her vocabulary seemed to have been cut short since entering the room- it really was gorgeous.

            "Ah, and incidently, you will notice we have not provided any… equipment, for your _extra-curricular _activities?" McGonogall said. Buffy looked surprised, so she added, "Professor Dumbledore told me so that should you need to leave the castle after dark, there will be no questions." Buffy nodded in understanding, and McGonogall finished her point, "We thought it best not to display your calling in your room in case other student see it for some reason. You will, however, have some where to train if you wish it- another thing to discuss with the headmaster."

            "Ok, thanks." Buffy said.

            " Well, sleep well. Good night, Miss Potter,"

            "Buffy. It's just Buffy."

            "Buffy then. Goodnight Potter."

            "Goodnight Professor." Harry replied. Professor McGonogall left through the portrait door, and Buffy let out an exaggerated breath. Harry chuckled.

            "I never expected _this_." Buffy said. She crossed to the bathroom door, and peaked inside, this time unable to stop the cry of "Bloody hell!" -The bath was like a small swimming pool, with many more taps than Buffy knew what to do with. She grimaced, "Crap. I can't believe I've started saying that. Xander will never let me live it down! He thought it was funny enough me being English, let alone me becoming Spike-ette." 

Harry laughed,

            "It's a bit of a way between saying Bloody hell and being a female Spike." He said.

            "Thank god."

            "Amen." They went back into the main room, and Buffy tried out the sofas, finding them just as soft as they looked.

            "I can't believe this is my room." She said grinning.

            "Neither can I, I've saved the school more than once, and I have to share with four other boys!" Harry exclaimed. Buffy grinned wider, 

            "Speaking of which, you should probably go sort out your stuff and things some time soon, you've got lessons tomorrow."

Harry grimaced,

            "Yeah, I guess so." He looked at her for a moment, "So you like Hogwarts then?"

            "Yeah, Hogwarts rocks. Wow… never saw me saying that about a _school._"

Harry laughed again.

            "Another thing Xander will love."         

            "Oh _I'm_ gonna be the one laughing on _that_ count. I'm gonna have to get those guys over here… an' they're gonna freak!"

            "I'm gonna go." Harry said. "See you tomorrow."

            "Tomorrow. Sleep well."

            "You too. G'night."

            "Night."

            Harry went through the common room door, and Buffy was alone. She breathed a deep sigh, not of relief or frustration, but just weariness. She had thought her life had been eventful before, but so much had happened recently, and Buffy couldn't deny that she was a little over whelmed. She just sat on the sofa, thinking everything though, and eventually slipped into a deeper sleep than she'd had for many weeks.

            Buffy was wandering through the forest, her head turning now and then to sharp sounds, but she saw nothing. As she walked, the trees became fainter, and overlaying them now were other images, of many children, lined in ranks, repeating fighting moves in unison. The children flickered, momentarily transforming into girls of varying ages, then back to the children. _Some will die, and nothing I can do will stop that._ She saw red eyes in the trees, and Voldemort's evil laugh echoed around. _Until the four ride again._ Harry cried out to Buffy, and she cast around, looking for him. Buffy saw a dark hospital room, she heard voices she couldn't decipher, and saw Faith's eyes snap open. _Never._ She heard screams, and Harry cried out again- he was tied and gagged on the ground before her, but when she reached out, he was gone. _Something we can't share._ Voldemort's laughter got louder and louder, filling her ears. She clamped her hands over them, crying out. She saw the glint of a knife, 

And sat up, gasping for breath.

            "Shit." Buffy gasped. "Friggin dreams. Shit." Buffy held her head in her hands, trying to remember all she had seen, but the more she reached for it, the more it faded- some would not return to the slayer for years. "Damn it." She exclaimed, and kicked a cushion across the room. It was only then that Buffy realised she was still on the sofa, fully dressed, and sunlight was streaming through the windows. Looking at her watch, Buffy saw that it was just past six thirty in the morning. She squeezed her eyes shut, and flopped back on the sofa again. "Urgh. Why can't my life be simple?" She asked herself. "Stupid, bloody dreams."

-----

Before you all say it- I KNOW my sorting song didn't rhyme, and I'm very sorry bout that. But I did write it myself pretty quickly, so cut me some slack- it flows even if its not very regular and doesn't rhyme. Anyway, I need to go do copious amounts of maths and Biology coursework, so bye bye.

Please review!!

-Sam


	30. Meet Anne Potter

Hey people, another update for you here! I'm very happy right now, partly because of all your wicked reviews, and partly cos I just wrote a bit I've been wanting to write for ages… and no, I'm not telling what it is. *grins*

I'm glad you guys liked my sorting song!!

Blackcat200- You'll have to wait and see about Faith, but it shouldn't be too long now *grins*

All go read Becks89, shootingstar19 and witchlights stories!! They're really cool! (especially witchlights 'threes a destiny' cos I helped with that!) They're all wicked!

Chapter 30- Meet Anne Potter

            Buffy took a shower in her bathroom, and dressed in pale blue robes, tucking a stake into a pocket (just in case). Her wet hair hung limp, and she cast around for a hair tie or clip, but all her stuff was still packed. She looked around, and shrugged, might as well, she thought. She twisted her hair up, and stuck her wand through it to hold it up. She sat at her desk, and fought with a quill for a while, splodging ink all over the paper.

            "Crap." She murmured. Buffy went to her still packed bags, and rifled through to find a nice simple biro. She returned to the desk, got a new piece of paper, and began a letter to the scoobies. They'd been keeping in touch with a couple of letters over the past two weeks, but Buffy wanted to fill them in on the latest, and felt she should mention her dream to Giles. She asked them to check up on Faith… she couldn't remember details, but knew Faith had featured in the dream. She warned them that she'd had the feeling Faith might wake up soon. Just as Buffy was finishing the letter, there was a knock on the common room door, and she heard Harry call,

            "Buffy? You awake?"

            "Yeah, come in." She replied. Harry did, and grinned,

            "How was your first night at Hogwarts then?" He asked, taking a seat on one of the sofas.

            "Ok." Buffy replied, trying to smile. 

            "What?"

            "Na, nothing… bad dream. Don't worry." She held up the letter, "Can I use Hedwig to post this?"

            "Sure. I don't think she likes you much though- you keep sending her all the way to America." Harry chuckled.

            "Only once." Buffy retorted, "Or twice…"

            "She only just got back before we left the Burrow. Maybe you should use a school owl- some of them are faster anyway."

            "Ok, sure. Will ya show me?"

            "Course…" Harry paused, frowning at the back of Buffy's head as she turned to find her shoes. "Buffy…" He said incredulously, "Is that your wand in your hair?"

            "Yah. So?" Buffy replied, grinning. Harry just laughed,

            "I'll show you the owlery."

            By the time they got to the great hall for breakfast, Buffy knew for certain that even over Lupin's return, the biggest news at Hogwarts was her. Students whispered and starred in the corridors, and via Ginny, Hermione and Ron, she and Harry had now heard many different versions of why she was here.

            "According to a third year, you're Lupin's daughter." Hermione said.

            "Ah, ah, I can better that!" Ron exclaimed, serving himself more bacon, "A seventh year told me you were Lupin's fiancé."

            "Ew!" Buffy cried, but laughed.

            "Then there's the ones following the Internet site- you're Harry's sister…" Ginny began.

            "Well that's ok…" Buffy said happily, but stopped when she saw Ginny's broad smile. 

            "Granted there are some who take it that simple, but there's also the one where you were kidnapped by goblins and kept in Gringotts all these years…"

            "One where," Hermione could barely say it for laughing, "Voldemort's spell trapped you _in_ Harry, and they only just figured out how to get you out." They all cracked up, and grimaced at the same time. "There's more." Hermione said, "Apparently _that's_ why Harry collapses and hears voices… and… and…" She was gasping for breath between outbreaks of laughter, "and that's why he dances like a girl!" She managed to finish. She ducked the bread roll Harry threw, and Ginny almost fell off her seat in hysterics.

            "I…" She spluttered, "One Luna heard…"

            "I'm sure we'd all be fascinated to hear it, if you weren't disrupting breakfast for the rest of the school." Said a tight, cold voice. Buffy rolled her eyes, and smiled brightly,

            "Well if it isn't the sunshine of the school." She said endearingly. Snape's sneer grew deeper. "Seriously professor, it's the first morning of school, if you start out _this_ tightly wound… you're gonna have back problems by the end of the year."

He almost growled while the students around tried desperately not to laugh. "Sorry." Buffy said. "Odd mood this morning."

He looked shocked, clearly not expecting such an apology from the blonde Potter.

            "Yes… Well… keep the noise down." Snape snapped.

            "I can't believe he didn't try to take points off." Harry gasped.

            "Harry, first day of school- we _have_ no points." Ron reminded him.

            "Still."

            "An' I'm not a student, so he can't take points of me." Buffy added, "So what lessons you got?" She asked Harry, "Hopefully not potions right away, or I may have just signed your death warrant."

            "I have… transfiguration. And Defence against the dark arts this afternoon."

            "We're all together for those ones." Hermione said. "It'll be weird having so few subjects now."

            "Few? Hermione, you're doing twice as many as the rest of the year." Ron said witheringly.

            "Not _twice_ as many." Hermione replied sulkily. Buffy grinned- she really had to get those two together.

            "Look, I gotta go- meeting with Dumbledore. I'll see you later." Buffy said, standing.

            "See ya." Harry said. The others added their farewells, and Buffy walked off. A few moments later, however, she was back,

            "Erm, Harry? Where's Dumbledore's office?"

            Buffy stood before the gargoyle trying every sweet she could think of. Harry had had to run off to lessons, and Buffy didn't know Dumbledore's password.

            "Erm… smarties? Winegums? … oh, oh, mint humbugs! Aw crap." The gargoyle didn't budge. "Ok, sherbet. No? Fruit pastilles?" She was losing hope.

            "I know the password." Said a teasing voice behind Buffy. She turned to see a small man floating in the air, grinning widely.

            "You gotta be peeves." Buffy said, crossing her arms across her chest.

            "I know the password." He repeated.

            "So spill already." She said impatiently.

            "Now now, that's a bit rude. Be nice to poor wittle Peevesy."

            "Or I could go get the bloody baron." Buffy threatened, remembering what Harry had told her about Peeves fear of the blood drenched ghost.

            "You wouldn't." Peeves said, narrowing his eyes.

            "Wouldn't I?"

Peeves looked unsure. He didn't know this new girls limits- he didn't know how far he could push her. But something about the look in her eyes told him that it was a bad idea to mess with her.

            "Sherbet fountain." He said sullenly. The gargoyle hopped aside, revealing the staircase.

            "Oh I was _so_ close." Buffy said. "Thanks Peeves." She gave him a little wave and stepped onto the moving spiral stairs. Buffy knocked on the door at the top, and Dumbledore's voice called for her to enter. So Buffy pushed the door open, and stepped cautiously into the room, which was full of odd instruments (though fewer than there used to be before Harry's outburst at the end of the previous term) and had many portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses hanging around the walls. Dumbledore was smiling strangely. Buffy raised her eyebrows, "You _knew_ I wouldn't know the password." She said accusingly.

            "I may have, yes."

            "So you were what? Testing me?"

            "You could say that. Well done."

            "Peeves told me." She shrugged. Dumbledore chuckled, and offered Buffy a seat. 

            "So- you wish to learn some magic."

            "Yup."

            "You have your wand?"

Buffy whipped it out of her hair, and nodded,

            "Yup."

Dumbledore tried so hard not to show his surprise, and continued,

            "Well, I have spoken to my colleagues, and they have agreed to tutor you in their free time. You can also sit in on some lessons… This is, of course, presuming you would not wish to merely join a first year class?"

            "Yeah. I mean, no… I… private tutoring is good."

            "Very well. Now comes the choice of which subjects then. I suggest the core subjects, such as Charms, Potions and Transfiguration. Muggles studies would be unnecessary, as would History of magic, unless you particularly want to…"

            "That's ok. I was never much good at History."

            "As you wish… Divination?"

            "Ooh, I'd be good at that." Buffy grinned. "And Professor Trelawny would love me- I've _actually_ died."

Dumbledore chuckled again, 

            "Quite. Now… Defence Against the Dark Arts- I believe that you will already know a lot of it…"

            "Yeh, but I want to do that one! I read Harry's text books, and it's amazing, all the creatures that I've seen as demons, and a few I need to tell Lupin about… and plus, learning magical defence has _got_ to be a good idea."

            "Yes, yes of course…" He began. But Buffy interrupted him, not meaning to be rude, but merely getting very excited about Hogwarts life.

            "Oh! And Professor McGonogall said to talk to you about where I can train- cos I can't let myself start relying on magic, cos that would be mucho bad, I think you need a balance, really…"

            "Yes. This is the other thing I wished to discuss with you." Dumbledore's face became a little more serious, and Buffy frowned. She followed through what she had been saying, and almost kicked herself- she could very nearly quote what was coming before it did. "In these times, a mixture of both physical and magical defence would be a _great_ advantage. You have great knowledge in the area of _physical_ defence, Buffy. You could do great things for these children… and as the professors are giving up free time to help _you_… it seems only fair that you give something back."

            "Yeah, sure, but me, a teacher? You _are_ kidding, right? Buffy not good teacher. Nu-uh. _Bad_ idea…" She looked at Dumbledore's amused impression. "I don't have a choice in this, do I?" She said wearily.

            "Of course you have a choice. But…"

            "But I gotta do something and the other choice is cleaning loos?" she said knowingly.

            "Hm. I hadn't thought of that idea- that's rather interesting…" Dumbledore began.

            "Ok, ok, I'll do it." Buffy said quickly. "I'll train them as well as I can… but some of their parents wont want it."

            "Some of _them_ wont want it. It shall have to be a purely voluntary activity. Depending on numbers, we can split them into smaller classes, or whatever you are happy with."

            "Ok… when will the sessions be?"

            "Weekends would be simplest to organise. But students have some free lessons as well." Dumbledore told her.

            "Yeah. Ok… so we tell everyone, see how many sign up and work from there?"

            "I shall announce it tomorrow. I will have a room prepared in which you can train as well as taking these sessions- if there is anything specific you require that we do not provide, just tell me." Dumbledore said.

            "Cool. Ok." Buffy said, trying to sound brave and enthusiastic.

            "I shall talk to teachers, sort out these lessons for you too. Today, however, I suggest you take time to settle in- maybe explore a little."

            "Yeah. This place is incredible." Buffy said.

            "It is rather, isn't it? I shall see you later, then, Miss Potter."

            "Buffy, I keep telling people it's just Buffy- 'cept officially of course."

Dumbledore smiled,

            "Buffy then. Have a good day."

            "Thanks. Bye."

Buffy returned to her room, and began to unpack her bags into the huge wardrobe. About half way through, something suddenly occurred to her- the door beside the cupboard (level with the wardrobe doors) led straight through to the common room, showing clearly that less than a foot of wall separated the rooms- but the wardrobe was about two foot deep. She walked from room to room a couple of times, trying to work it out, but eventually just shook her head and got back to unpacking. 

            Behind one of the cupboard doors were a set of drawers. Buffy opened one to fill it, just thinking about how a cold Coke would be wonderful right now, and froze. The pile of clothes she'd been about to deposit were inches from the top of a glass- a glass of what looked oddly like cold Coke. 

            "What the hell?" She asked herself. Buffy put down the clothes, and picked up the glass. She smelt it- it smelt like Coke too, not that coke smelt all that much. She sipped a tiny bit- it was _very_ cold Coke. But where had it come from? Buffy closed the drawer and said, "I would just _love_ a blueberry muffin." She opened the drawer, and grinned- a large blueberry muffin sat on a plate in the drawer. "Cool." Buffy said delightedly. 

            At lunch she went to the great hall, and chatted with Harry and the group about her meeting with Dumbledore and her new discoveries in her room. They were all thrilled that she would be teaching them defence, and Harry was even happier knowing that for once he would have a head start. In the afternoon, as suggested by the Gryffindor group, she headed outside to have a look around the immense grounds. Her wand was once again stuck through her hair although it was already held by a hair tie- she just found that it was actually a very useful place for it, easily accessible, and she would notice if someone tried to grab it. She wandered down the lawn towards the lake, a light summery breeze rustling the trees of the great forest. Buffy breathed deeply, loving the fresh, warm air, and gazed around at the beautiful school grounds. Seeing the quidditch stadium, she headed towards it, eager to see the real thing as she had heard so much about it and had become rather excited about quidditch in her couple of weeks with the Weasleys. Buffy gasped as she walked in- it was _huge!_ The goal posts were about fifty feet up, and the stands elevated to give a clear view of the match. Harry had told her all this, but Buffy hadn't truly believed the sheer magnitude! Harry would fly well above the rest too, she thought- it was insane how high he must fly! Buffy just thanked whoever was listening that she wasn't, and never would be, a seeker. She was standing on the pitch, squinting up at the goal posts, when she heard a gruff voice behind her,

            "Buffy, ain't it?" 

She spun round to see Hagrid looking at her oddly.

            "Oh, yeah. Well- Anne Potter, but Buffy, yeah."

He frowned,

            "Harry said…"

            "Yeah… I'm his sister."

            "The Potters never had another child." He countered, still not coming any closer to her.

            "They didn't tell anyone about me- they were still in school. They gave me up for adoption with a muggle agency so no one would know." Buffy explained, understanding his wariness.

            "You grew up with muggles? You didn't know?" He asked, unable to keep the interest and pity from his voice.

            "Didn't have a clue. Until this summer, I thought I was Buffy Anne Summers- an' I guess I always will be, in a way. I still think of Joyce Summers as my mom, as well as Lily Potter… it's weird."

            "You're American." Hagrid pointed out. Buffy chuckled, smiling wryly,

            "Yeah, I noticed." She replied.

            "Look- you want a glass of lemonade?" Hagrid offered, "I 'ave a new batch in my hut if you'd like."

            "That'd be cool." Buffy said, wanting to get to know the half giant Harry had told her so much about.

            "Rubeus Hagrid." He said, finally offering a hand as she walked over.

            "Good to meet you." She replied, shaking the hand of the man who was at least twice her height. They walked together over to Hagrid's hut in awkward silence. As they approached, Buffy heard a mighty bark, and Hagrid chuckled,         

            "That's Fang." He said. A huge dog was racing towards them.

            "Harry told me about him." Buffy said grinning. The boarhound leapt at Buffy, knocking her to the ground and covering her face in slobbery kisses. She laughed aloud.

            "Erm, heh-heh, sorry about that…" Hagrid said, "Fang, heel!" The dog looked over his shoulder at his master, and turned back to Buffy, who giggled and tried to push him of as he resumed licking her. 

            "Fang, down!" Buffy cried desperately. Fang made an apologetic sort of whimper and backed off. 

            "How… what… that's not… how?" Hagrid spluttered.

            "You know that mutt has always had a soft spot for the ladies, Hagrid." Said a witch walking towards them. She was covered in soil and her hair stuck out at odd angles, but she was smiling warmly, and offered Buffy a hand up.

            "Thanks." Buffy said.

            "Professor Sprout, meet…" Hagrid began.

            "The Potter girl, right?"

            "Er, yeh." Buffy replied.

            "Heard a lot about you. I hope you'll be studying a bit of herbology with me? …though I understand it probably isn't on the top of your list of priorities right now… still, if you have a free moment, I'd be more than happy to show you a few things."

            "That'd be great." Buffy said genuinely, immediately liking Sprout.

            "Just goin' in for a lemonade, Professor. Would you like to join us?"

            "I have a lesson I'm afraid." The professor told them, "But another time. I was just wondering if you still had any of that dragon manure, Hagrid?"

            "O' course. I'll go get some for you."

Hagrid came back in moments with a large, bad smelling sack.

            "Ah, excellent." Professor Sprout said. "Right- I must go. Nice to meet you Miss Potter."

            "Buffy. Call me Buffy." 

            "Buffy then. See you later Hagrid." She raised one hand in a short wave and headed back to her greenhouses, the heavy sack floating behind her after a flick of her wand. They went into Hagrid's hut, and Buffy sat in the biggest chair she'd ever seen. Hagrid poured the lemonade, and despite Harry's warnings about Hagrid culinary skills, it tasted great. 

            "So- how did you find out about all this?" He asked her. "Harry an' all I mean."

            "Ah." Buffy sighed, "Well, my mo… my adoptive mother died earlier this summer. My '_dad_' left us a quite a while ago, so I had to go through her stuff- I found all the papers, tracked down the agency, and pretty much abra-kadabra." Buffy shrugged- she'd told the story so many times recently and really didn't want to get into it.

            "I'm sorry." Hagrid said, "I didn't realise."

            "S'ok. I'm dealing. Harry's a big part of that…" She smiled softly, "He's great, isn't he?"

            "Right good kid that." Hagrid agreed, "Seems to attract trouble like a magnet, but he's a brill' kid."

Buffy chuckled,             

            "Sounds like my brother." 

            "You spent the end of the holidays with the Weasleys I hear?"

            "Yeah. They're an amazing family." Buffy grinned, her whole face lighting up at the thought of them.

            "Glad you like 'em." Hagrid said. "I tell you, those twins did some incredible things in their time here."

            "I still have to go see the swamp." 

            "Heh- heh. Yes… they really stuck it to Umbridge, huh?"

            "Sounds like it. I just wish I'd been here when she was. Urgh, I'd have…" She noticed Hagrid's odd expression and remembered that she wasn't meant to be slay-gal in front of most people. "I'd have… given her a piece I mind is what I'd have done." She covered. Hagrid scoffed,

            "Needed more than that. She needed a right boot up the… well, y'know."

            "Yeah." Buffy chuckled. She was definitely seeing what Harry liked about Hagrid, and they talked for a long time, of course eventually getting onto the subject of monsters, and Hagrid finally finding someone (though he didn't know how or why) who found many of the more dangerous creatures fascinating. Buffy had had research crammed into her brain so much over the past three years, she couldn't help but be interested in at least _some_ of it. It was nearing dinner time when Buffy left for the main castle. She looked up at the gigantic building and smiled; she really could get to like it here.

---------

Please review!


	31. Slayage

Hey people! WOW! I am so completely… wow. 900 reviews! I have over 900 reviews for this story!!!! Thank you all soooo much, you truly rock!

Blondi gurl- As I've said, I'm not saying anything before hand about my plans for faith, you gotta wait an see!!

Miz- See above, lol.

Blackcat200- Riley will only come into it if I can work a way for Buffy to beat the stuffing out of him and send him packing… I never liked him much…

Village mystic- Erm, nice theory… but she didn't 'accio' the food. The idea is that it's a magical drawer that gives her whatever snack she really wants. Not important, just something I thought would be fun. And there is no link with the wand being in her hair, that was again just me being odd.

Slytheretta- No solid plans about Harry's love life. I have some ideas… but I haven't written anything yet.

Phoenix83ad + Caribear- Hagrid will find out about Buffy, I know he needs to know.

Chrios- The report abuse thingy is for reporting stuff that breaks the rules, I guess, and the author alerts is a thingy that lets you get an email every time an author updates anything or posts a new story-very useful, but u have to be registered to use it.

All read Becks89, witchlight and shooting star19's stories cos they are very very cool, and you all have to respect witchlights capability to write stories so well in Chemistry lessons… 

Now, back to MY story, *grins*. Hope you like!!

Chapter 31- Slayage

            The slayer spent that evening in the Gryffindor common room with Harry and most of the group, and they were soon joined by many of their friends who were now eager to find out who Buffy was. Of course they were shocked that Harry had a sister, but they accepted that it was the truth, while Buffy and the others had to spend quite a while quashing most of the formulated theories. 

            It was nearing ten and the common room was almost empty as everyone was tried after their first day back. Buffy suggested that they get to bed too, and unsurprisingly, Hermione concurred. Buffy said good night to them all as they went up the stairs to the dorms, but Harry hung back, waiting for the others to leave. When they were alone, he turned to his sister- he had recognised her jumpy mood all evening, and the way she hurried them off to bed,

            "You're going patrolling, aren't you?" He accused. Buffy was startled,

            "Harry…"

            "Don't lie."

            "I wasn't gonna. I'm all jumpy tonight- I'm in slay mood. Plus I think I should get a lie of the land, y'know. I want to check out the forest, and maybe Hogsmeade…"

            "The forest? At night? On your own?" Harry snapped.

            "Cool it, would you? I get it, there's ooglie booglies in there- but I've patrolled the _Sunnydale_ woods on my own at night, I'll be fine."

            "But… let me come with you."

            "No way. Go to bed."

            "I'm not a kid, Buffy!" Harry said in rising tones.

            "Damn it, Harry, are we gonna have this argument _every_ time I patrol? It's not that I think you're a kid. It's that _I'm_ the slayer! I have to do this, and I don't want to put you at risk- I don't want to put anyone at risk. You think Will and Xand always come with me?"

            "No, but… I thought I proved myself, with the mayor special thing, … _and _I got one with my knife…"

Buffy chuckled, and cupped her brothers cheek in her hand,

            "Harry, I love you, ok? You rock. And you were wicked that day. Willow and Xander have been incredible sometimes too. But tonight- hell, I probably won't find anything anyway, you'd be bored. And…" She shrugged, "It's a school night, you're my little bro, an' I'm telling you to go to bed!" She smiled, and Harry couldn't help returning it, chuckling a little.

            "Fine. But if you do find anything then you're telling me- in _detail!_"

            "Noted. Full report on any slayage." They grinned at each other and parted wordlessly, Harry heading up the stairs and Buffy through her door. A head came round the side of one of the armchairs facing the fire. Neville gaped back and forth from stairs to door, and said in confusion,

            "Slayage?" 

            Buffy changed into her regular clothes, and took several stakes. She checked for her wand (in her hair), then slipped out of the portrait door, just glancing back at Fairfax, who smiled knowingly and called for her to be careful.

            The grounds were pitch dark, no street lamps lighting the way or nearby light pollution casting a glow into the sky. They were also perfectly quiet, only the slightest sound of the occasional bird, or maybe a fox a little way off to be heard. Buffy walked straight down the lawn to the forest, and checking no one was around, she slipped into the trees. Buffy could now hear no more than her own footsteps and the occasional rustle as she crept into the depths of the forest. Her senses were widened, listening for any tiny sound, feeling for any unnatural presence. Suddenly there was a loud squark, and Buffy spun quickly round, stake raised. An owl sat on a tree stump nearby and looked at her with huge wide eyes. Tied to it's leg was a letter.

            "Oh." Buffy sighed, "You're delivering me a letter in here?" She said disbelievingly. The owl hooted impatiently. "Ok, ok." Buffy said. She took the letter, and the bird flew off. Buffy took it's seat, and unrolled the parchment. Her slayer eyes had more or less adjusted to they darkness, and she read,

Dear Buffy,

            How's Hogwarts going? I know I only saw you yesterday… and said good bye to you yesterday… (the whole Fred situation is completely sorted by the way!) I just thought I should write, you know, to see how you are. That's pretty much it- at least I _know_ there are no decent looking guys in the seventh year, or on the staff, so I don't have to worry about competition. Right? Right? Don't tell anyone yet, but we're trying to arrange a collaboration with Zonko's joke shop, meaning we'd be in Hogsmeade now and then if we work it out. So I'll try to come see you soon. It's the corniest line in the book, but I miss you already.

            Oh! Have you seen our swamp yet? Try to continue your school property damage record- its much less serious in a school where a wave of a wand can fix it all- I hope you'll have completely disastrous and wonderful stories to tell me by the time I get there! – in fact I will be positively ashamed if you don't!

            Mum is yelling for me to help with dinner, so I'm going to sign off. See you soon, though. Say hi to Gin and Ronnikins and the others.

            Love,

                        George

Buffy read it through several times, smiling contentedly. She was so absorbed that she didn't even hear the crunch of leaf litter behind her.

            "You." A voice said sharply. For the second time, Buffy span about with her stake raised, but this time she saw an amazing creature- half man, half horse. "What are you doing here?" It demanded. "Students are not allowed in our forest."

            "Well I'm not a student." Buffy replied stonily.

            "You are… the slayer…" He said slowly.

            "Is there any one who doesn't know that? I swear keeping a secret identity in the wizarding world is impossible!"

            "I can feel it in you…"

            "Great…" Buffy said, "You're a centaur, right? [he nodded] well, you seen any demons, vamps, anything like that in here?"

            "Not of late."

            "Oh. How boring." Buffy replied, deflated. "I'll shove off then, no point in hangin' around."

            "Take care, Slayer." The centaur said quickly, deep warning in his voice. Buffy frowned inwardly- Harry had said that the centaurs weren't very forthcoming, so why was this one offering warning when she didn't even ask?

            "Of what?" Buffy asked.

            "The stars foretell of pain. You will fight your own, slayer, the question is will you want to win?"

            "Y'what?"

            "Triumph will not solve anything." He said. Buffy raised one eyebrow,

            "How d'you figure that?"

            "Believe me." The centaur said, before turning around and walking off into the trees with nothing more helpful to say. Buffy starred disbelievingly after him, and found that she was no longer in the mood to go into Hogsmeade. She hurried back up to the warmth of the castle, and to her room, where minutes later she was fast asleep in her huge bed.

Buffy was running. She fled through the corridors of Hogwarts, and burst through a door… but there was nothing on the other side. _Kill_ shrieked a voice. She saw the children again, in the woods… then the girls… then screams- _Harry!_ She felt life beneath her hands, and the power to destroy it …_Me_…more scream, sobbing, begging full of indecipherable words…_ you don't believe he can do it?_ … Faith falling, falling…_Never… you'll never stop him… _she saw her friends, united as always, but powerless all the same…_ it's all yours… _Harry's frightened eyes_… I know what you feel cos I feel it too…_ Buffy now felt like _she_ was falling, endlessly falling, scenes flashing past her before she could truly see what was happening, scenes past and future, things that wrenched at her heart and those that melted her with joy… and above it all came the heartless cackle of the dark lord. Suddenly Buffy found herself in the hallway again, running for all she was worth, she burst through the door,

And once again woke up none the wiser to what it meant. What she knew now that she was conscious was that the corridor was that right outside her portrait door. In the dream she raced though this room- it was the common room door that she could not see beyond. A lump in her throat, Buffy walked to the door, and pulled it open. The common room was empty, the fire low in the grate. The windows were still opaque with night, and not a sound reached the slayer's ears. She shook her head slowly, and dropped into one of the armchairs by the fire. Buffy tucked her knees up under her chin, and gazed into the flames, wishing she knew what the dreams meant, and praying that Giles and the other got her letter, and that they would write back soon.

            A few hours later, Buffy was sitting bright eyed and filled with enthusiastic cheer with Harry and the group at the Gryffindor table. During breakfast, Dumbledore stood up, and in his incredible way made the entire hall fall silent by that one act. 

            "Good morning, good morning." He said casually. "I would like to announce that a self defence class shall begin next week for anyone and everyone who is interested in learning physical defence- that is, with _no_ wand." A murmur such as Buffy was finding to become very familiar swept through the hall, and more than one person glanced at her. "The class will be taken by one of the newest members of our school community, Miss Anne Potter…" He was cut off by another, louder murmur. "Yes, yes, she _is_ Harry Potter's elder sister, and I ask that you refrain from gawking in the corridors, Miss Potter is no different to you or I." Buffy smirked as many pairs of eyes swiftly snapped back away from her. Dumbledore continued, "Miss Potter has had extensive training in this field, and I hope that many of you will be eager to join- however, it is, of course, utterly optional- please sign up on the notice board in the entrance hall. That is all, please continue with your breakfast- the bacon is rather good…"

            "Do we have to call you Professor now?" Harry teased.

            "You do an' you die." Buffy snapped back. He chuckled,

            "I'm glad you knew about this an' we got to sign up before we came in- it's gonna be a crush later."

            "I wouldn't be so sure." Buffy said, "I think a lot of them are pretty sceptical about the whole 'no wands' thing…"

            "Tonnes of people will come." Hermione said, "Trust me."

            "We'll see." Buffy replied.

            "You have lessons today, right?" Harry asked his sister.

            "Yeah, just got my schedule from McGonogall- I have potions this morning cos Snape has a free- oh what fun that will be." But she grinned anyway.

            "You want me to show you the way?"

            "Na, I'll just follow my nose- slayer senses should lead me right to Snape _no_ problem." She joked.

            Out in the entrance hall, as predicted, there was a huge crowd about the notice board. Buffy split from the group and headed to the door off to the side where Harry told her Snape's dungeon was. The halls were darker and colder and soon the only light came from torches on the wall. Buffy felt a presence, and spun around.

            "A little jumpy, are we Potter?" Drawled Draco Malfoy.

            "Malfoy." Buffy sighed, "Shouldn't you be getting to class?"

            "Don't you tell me what to do, Potter." He spat the name like something vile. Buffy smirked.

            "What if I feel like it?" 

He seemed stumped on that one. So he scowled, and said,

            "Watch yourself, Potter, these dark corridors- you never know _who_ might be round the next corner." He turned, deliberately fanning out his cloak, and swept away. Buffy grinned, shaking her head, and kept looking for Snape's room. When she found one that looked hopeful, Buffy knocked, and at the muffled reply of,

            "Enter." She did.

            "Hi." She said. Snape, sitting at his desk writing something, didn't look up. Buffy rolled her eyes, and walked slowly to the front of room, looking at odd things in bottles as she went. She squinted at the contents of one bottle, and reached out a finger…

            "_Don't_ touch anything." Snape snapped, finally looking up. Buffy smiled,

            "Thought that might get your attention."

            "Lord you are insolent."

            "So I've been told. So, potions- tell me all there is to know, oh wise one."

She could see that he was close to bursting in flames, phoenix style, and rolled her eyes again. She took a seat in the front row, and raised her hands in surrender. "I'm all yours." She said. He frowned, clearly not understanding Buffy in any way.

            "I have been instructed to teach you potions- but you are late to start, and it will be impossible to get you to the standard you should be at, in such limited time." He said coldly. Buffy shrugged,

            "No biggy. I've read all Harry's text books if it helps."

            "You read?" He said by way of insult.

            "Now an' then. You read 'Interview with a vampire?- I think you'd really identify with some of the characters.'" She sent back.

            "I will not tolerate your stubborn disobedience and defiance of authority!" He cried.

            "Well I won't _tolerate_ a tight ass, pole up the butt, _I'm so dark_, shit scared of your own damned insides teacher moaning about _my_ social skills!" Buffy snapped back. He was in shock; yet again, the elder Potter sibling had let loose on Snape and he was utterly gobsmacked. Buffy was thinking- _bad Buffy, BAD Buffy. First lesson, insult and scream at teacher…meant to be giving him a chance… bad bad Buffy…_

Through his shock, Snape, on the other hand, though he would never admit it to anyone, _ever_, was impressed. He hated even to admit it to himself, but this was the first student to truly stand up to him, and more to the point, to get it exactly right. This girl, as insolent as she was, somehow knew what he felt, and as much as it disconcerted him, Snape couldn't help the feeling of respect that was forced upon him.

            "Open your text book to page 157 please." He said steadily. Buffy frowned a moment, before settling with an odd sort of smile, and getting out the book.

------

Please review!!

-Sam


	32. Slayer Stuff

Hey, big long chapter for ya! You guys are all so completely and utterly cool!!

Philip- I've said it before and I'll say it again, Buffy is with George. Don't worry, no Buffy and Snape grossness (hes the same age as her PARENTS would be!!!)

Ooooh, funness, I'm finding I actually _want_ to post chapters quickly rather than keeping you suspense cos I sooo want to get to some stuff that's gonna happen soon *grins* He he, nope, no clues.

All go read witchlight, Shootingstar19 and Becks89's stories, they rule.

Hope you enjoy…

Chapter 32- Slayer Stuff

            The next few days, Buffy had several lessons with various teachers, and read the majority of Harry's textbooks, much to his annoyance as he often found the books he'd packed in his bag weren't there by the time he got to his lessons. The list in the entrance hall continued to fill, and no one noticed the way Neville kept looking at Buffy oddly, or the huge amount of time he was spending in the library. Every single night, Buffy had similar dreams- cries for help, Harry in danger, Faith awakening, and Voldemort's laughter, and every morning she only remembered small bit of it. Several nights in, there was a major addition to the dream which had Buffy waking in a cold sweat with every detail lodged firmly in her mind it was so vivid. 

…After hurling herself through the door, and everything going blank, rather than waking up, Buffy finally found herself in the common room. There was no sound, and for some reason she was _facing_ the door she had come through. She could see Gryffindor students all around- all looking to a place behind Buffy with wide and fearful eyes. Buffy swallowed, and turned, and everything fell away.

Buffy sat on the edge of her bed, breathing heavily. What was it that she couldn't see? What was it that the dreams kept keeping from her? Something was going to happen in the common room… unless it was just symbolic, of course… Buffy threw a pillow across the room in frustration, and climbed out of bed. A quick look at her watch told her it was four in the morning, but this did not concern the slayer. She pulled on tracksuit trousers and a vest top, and left through her portrait door.

            "Where are you going at this hour?" Fairfax asked sleepily. "You patrolled earlier."

            "Yeah." Buffy replied, "But I cant sleep- I gotta let off some steam." She forced a small smile, and set off down the corridor. Following her practiced route, Buffy soon reached another room McGonogall had shown her a couple of days earlier- one she loved almost as much as her new bedroom. The door was a huge painting of a forest scene. One huge oak tree stood in the foreground, moss and lianas growing up it's ancient trunk. One of the long vines was a darker green than the rest, and Buffy traced its path from top to bottom with a finger. A knot in the bark seemed to fold out from the canvas, forming itself into a door knob which Buffy took hold of, and opened the door. The room was about three times the size of her bedroom, and round the edge were a variety of training equipment, from vaults to a punch bag and fighting dummies. At the centre of the room was a large matted area, and one wall was devoted to shelves and shelves of mystical volumes that only Buffy and those she permitted were actually able to pick up. Buffy smiled contentedly, still unable to believe that all this was _hers_. She had never expected to be greeted so warmly at Hogwarts. She switched on her disc-man, with its portable speaker attached, thankful she had remembered to bring it, and loud music blasted out. Within minutes, Buffy was lost in training exercises and battering the punch bag.

            Harry couldn't understand how hyper Buffy was later in the day. He had no knowledge of her midnight training session, or the dream that had caused it- in fact, he didn't know she was still having the dreams. 

            Today Buffy was to sit in on the sixth year divination lesson. It was the first of the year, so they would be starting new topics, and Dumbledore had assured Buffy that she would cope. She would have some private sessions too, but this seemed as good a starting point as any.

            "I can't wait to meet Trelawny."

            "You'll hate her." Ron said bitterly.

            "I can't believe you're taking divination after all we've said." Harry said, shaking his head.

            "I wanted to see what it was like." She replied in defence. "Beside, _I've_ probably had as many prophetic moments as Trelawny- might as well learn the theory too, huh?"

            "Whatever." Hermione chuckled, "Just be glad that you have the choice to drop out when you feel like it."

            "So do you, for at least two subjects." Ron exclaimed.

            "Only because I'm covering all eventualities." She said pompously.

            "I wish one of you was doing Herbology." Ron moaned. "Wish I hadn't buggered up potions."

            "You didn't bugger it up." Harry said, "You got an E, there's nothing wrong with that, Snape's just a prat."

            "Says you, who got _all_ the subjects you wanted." Ron snapped back, "Dark arts, Transfig', Potions, Charms and Care of magical creatures- you could get _any_ job with that mix!"

            "Ron, you're doing most of those too." Hermione reminded him.

            "Not potions though." He whined.

            "So you don't have to look at Snape's ugly mug anymore." Neville put in, "And Herbology is great."

            "Yeah, I guess." Ron sighed, "We should probably go if we're going to get down there in time." Neville nodded agreement, and they all said their goodbyes. Harry watched Ron go, and sighed, 

            "He'll be ok, right?" He said to Hermione. She chuckled again.

            "He'll be fine. Come on, Snape'll murder us if we're late for Potions."

            "Can you find your way to Trelawny's?" Harry asked Buffy. She nodded,

            "Have fun with Snapey." She said sarcastically. Buffy downed the rest of her tea and grabbed her bag, then headed up the stairs to find the divination room. She passed the miniature swamp on the fifth floor, and laughed to herself at the little plaque Flitwick had erected beside it in the Weasley twins' honour. Eventually she found the trapdoor in the ceiling, beneath which stood a crowd of students (mostly girls) some of whom she had seen around the Gryffindor common room.

            "Oh, Buffy!" Pavarti squealed. "Hi." They'd been introduced the day before. "Are you joining our lesson?" She asked excitedly.

            "Yup." Buffy said, feigning jubilation.

            "You'll just _love_ it." Lavendar Brown assured her. "Professor Trelawny is just amazing."

            "I know Harry and that lot probably told you she's a fraud, but it's _so_ not true." If the voices got any ditsier, Buffy would be forced to cough 'Cordelia'.

            "I'm sure it'll be great." She said, thankful that a silver ladder had just descended, and the conversation was cut short. 

            The room was dark, and smelt awfully of sweet incense. Buffy looked around for the teacher, her eyes adjusting to the gloom, and saw that as Harry had said, Trelawny looked incredibly like an overgrown bug.

            "Aaah." She said in a mystical voice, "This must be young Miss Potter."

            "That's me." Buffy replied, utterly un-phased by the forced atmosphere. Trelawny shuffled towards her, looking up even into Buffy's eyes. She gasped dramatically, and Buffy rolled her eyes- here we go, she thought.

            "Such darkness." Trelawny whispered, "Such terrible pain, loss… power…" Several girls were whispering and gasping at all this, but Buffy just starred at the strange woman. She wouldn't have been affected, if all this stuff didn't actually apply to her, the problem was that Trelawny had pretty much just described Buffy's life for the past few years. Buffy swallowed, then shrugged,

            "So?" She said. A couple of students laughed, but Trelawny just gaped at her.

            "This does not worry you? The fact that your very soul is sheathed in danger?"

            "I'm used to it." Buffy replied quietly. Trelawny gazed into Buffy's eyes, and knew that the young slayer meant it. Her brow furrowed, and she said, 

            "Please take a seat."

Buffy nodded, and sat in an empty seat at the edge of the room, and the lesson began. Buffy listened carefully, but constantly found that Trelawny's words nagged in her mind. Sure it was possible that it was just Trelawny being a kook and trying to scare her, but Buffy felt there was more to her comments. By the end of the class, Buffy was eager to reach the fresh, unscented air of the corridors, and packed up quickly, but as the students left, Trelawny called her back, 

            "Miss Potter, a word, please."

            "Sure, what is it?" Buffy replied. Trelawny waited for the last of the students to leave before continuing.

            "Does the darkness within you not worry you, my dear?" She asked. Buffy almost laughed,

            "I'm ok, really." She said.

            "But the pain within you…"

            "It's complicated." Buffy said. 

            "You have lost many in your time." Trelawny said. Buffy scrutinized the wizened face, and nodded slowly,

            "Yeah. Yeah I have."

            "Tell me?"

            "I… well… the woman I knew as my mother my whole life died a couple of months ago, that was hard."

            "And?"

            "And…" Buffy found that she suddenly _wanted_ to talk about this. She felt that of all people, Trelawny might just listen. "For almost four years now… it seems like bad stuff happens to everyone I care about." Buffy said.

            "Ah. I know the feeling. Has something changed in this time? Is there a reason you feel this way?"

            "I know why it is." Buffy said bitterly. "Dumbledore didn't tell you, did he?"

            "Tell me what, my dear?"

Buffy once again examined the woman, wondering whether to tell or not. Eventually she decided she could, and said in barely more than a whisper,

            "I'm the slayer."

Instead of gasping or gaping as many seemed to, Trelawny smiled in comprehension,

            "That explains much. It is this that hurts the ones you love?"

            "Often feels that way." Buffy replied. "Some of it is directly connected… but my Mom… her death had nothing to do with slaying, and still I feel… I feel like…"

            "Like it was your fault?" Trelawny finished. Buffy nodded sadly. "My dear, it was not, in any way. You must see that sometimes there is nothing even you, the slayer, can do."

            "I know." Buffy croaked.

            "My dear." Trelawny said sympathetically, "Do not be saddened." She looked the slayer over, and in a quieter voice, said, "There is something else, yes? Something else that bothers you?"

            "Huh? Oh, well, I guess so, yeah… but they're just bad dreams."

            "Prophetic dreams?" The professor said excitedly.

            "Yeah. I think so."

            "Do you want to discuss them?"

            "Not particularly." Buffy replied a little harshly.

            "Oh… another time maybe." Trelawny said.

            "Yeah. I have to go." Buffy replied. "Thanks, though."

            "Not at all dear- hurry along now."

At lunch, Buffy told Harry about her lesson, and expressed her opinion that perhaps Trelawny wasn't as much of a fake as she seemed. Of course they all knew that now and then she came out with real prophecies, but Buffy felt that the woman was deeper than most saw.

            "Whatever." Ron scoffed.

            "Sorry Buffy, but I don't see it." Hermione agreed.

            "How many times has she declared I was about to drop dead?" Harry said, "She's an old weirdo, Buffy."

            "I don't know- she could feel my… slayery-ness." Buffy said.

            "What, she said she could feel darkness and pain?" Harry said knowingly, "That's just her usual wrap for newbies." 

Buffy said no more, but she wasn't convinced by her brother's cynicism.  

            That night, Buffy went patrolling in Hogsmeade, needing to get away from the castle. She wandered the quiet streets, looking for vamps even though she hadn't found any here yet. She turned off the main road into the darker part of the village, and got tingles all down her spine. 

            "Bingo." She murmured to herself. Going more cautiously now, Buffy continued down the road as it got narrower, darker, and creepier. She froze at the sound of voices coming from what looked like a barn on the end of the row of houses. She crept to the entrance, and listened.

            "This is insane, I'm tellin' you! Wizards and witches have wands- one little sun spell and we're screwed!" said one voice.

            "Not to mention that the wands are wooden!" Another agreed.

            "So? They are like lambs to the slaughter. They think they're invincible because of those things, so they don't expect us. And I know you've heard how good wizard blood is."

            "Like an elixir."  Someone said in a voice that made Buffy's skin crawl. She peeked through a crack in the wooden door to see five vampires sitting around chatting. It seemed that three of them were all for ravaging the village right now, while the other two insisted that it was suicide. Buffy looked around some more, seeing how she could make this work. Shrugging, Buffy kicked a metal bucket near her hiding place, and waited while she heard one of the vamps ordered to 'check it out'. She backed up away from the door a little, so that the vamp had to come out quite a way, and when he saw Buffy, and grabbed at her, she was ready. He was dust before he could even make a sound.

            "Well that was easy." She said. 

            "Dude?" Called one of the other vamps. "Anything there? Mike? Dude, where'd you go?" Buffy leant against the wall, just waiting for him to venture further out. Suddenly he saw her, and leapt at her. Buffy sidestepped, so that he slammed into the wall, and growled. He lunged again, and Buffy snap kicked him in the stomach, making him stumble backwards, crashing into a dustbin.

            "Crap." Buffy said, knowing his friends would be there in seconds. Next time he lunged, Buffy went with it, using the vamps momentum to propel him past her and into another wall, where she staked him quick. "Two down." A pair of growls told her that two of the 'three to go' were right behind her. She backflipped, catching each of them with a heeled boot to the face, and spinning on landing to face them with her stake raised as they staggered back upright. They leapt into battle, Buffy having to keep watch on all sides for number three while blocking the two attacking her. A low swipe with a foot took one down, and she leapt onto him, staking him as fast as possible. But strong hands wrenched her off as the guy dusted, and the girl vamp yelled,

            "You killed my boy!" 

Buffy winced as she hit the cobbled street, but was up quickly, only to realise her stake had still been lodged in 'her boy's heart, and had dusted with him. A spinning kick kept the girl back while Buffy cast around for another weapon. It was only when the girl was running at her again that Buffy remembered what the vamps had been discussing, and pulled the long thin piece of wood from her hair. The vamps eyes widened as Buffy thrust it forward, straight through her heart, before wrenching it back to ensure its safety. 

            "Now where's the big guy?" Buffy wondered. As if in answer to her question, the final vamp jumped from the roof, knocking Buffy down hard. He straddled her, holding her arms tight, and leaning in. Buffy struggled hard, unable to believe she had let him get such an advantage. She kneed him in the back, but it did no more than make him more angry. "Fine then." Buffy murmured. As he leant right in to bite her, Buffy reared her head up, head-butting him as hard as she could. He flailed backwards, letting go of her hands. She punched him in the face, and then thrust with her wand, and watched his shocked face disintegrate.

            "Buffy!" Someone cried in a deep voice. She looked up, to see Hagrid, panting hard, eyes wide. 

            "Hagrid? What are you doing down here?" she asked.

            "I was 'avin'a drink in the hogshead… walkin' back an' I 'ear this great racket… I came as fast as I could… are you alright? What are you doin' 'ere!?"

Buffy chuckled, and flipped herself up to her feet.

            "I'm fine, Hagrid."

            "But… weren't that a Vampire?"

            "Yup."

            "Dumbledore said you might be out an' about now an' then, an' not to bother you… said he'd explain later- tomorrow in fact, we 'ave a meetin' planned, but this… crikey… you were like a damned slayer!" He looked utterly awed, and Buffy was certain that the last thing he expected her to say was,

            "Funny you should say that…" And go on to explain just how right he was.

----------

Please review!!


	33. Muggle Defence

:D Hey people. Nearly Easter holidays! Nearly!! I can't wait!! I'm gonna sleep in so long on the first day…and the second… and the third…

I wasn't sure whether to post this yet or not, but I couldn't wait! (u'll see why…)

Thank you SOOO much for all your reviews, I can't believe how many I've got for this story, you guys are totally awesome!!

Tanydwr- Harry knows that Trelawny has some real prophecies now and then, but believes that most of her every day stuff is for show. As for 'the two' and 'when the four ride again'- well you'll have to wait and see, wont you! *grins*

Wild320- Buffy and George-ness will return soonish, but some big stuff happening b4 then… *grins again* And scoobies are coming up very soon!!

All go read Becks89, Witchlight and Shootinstar19's stories, and feel free to bug them all about updating!! Esspecially Becks' 'the boy who lived' because it's amazing, and she hasn't updated for ages!! Hear that Becks? Yes! UPDATE IT NOW!!

Anyway, back to _my_ story, and a fun fun fun chapter…

Chapter 33 

            It was Sunday, Buffy's sixth full day at Hogwarts, and the day of her first Self Defence class. She had spent hours the day before sorting out timetables with Dumbledore and McGonogall, as literally hundreds of students had signed up. They had sorted it so that, starting Sunday afternoon to give Buffy a little time to prepare, she would have a separate session for each year group; two on Sundays, two on Saturdays, and the other three during the week. Buffy was hugely relieved that Sundays afternoons would be sixth year, meaning her first lesson would include plenty of people she already knew. 

            At three PM, she, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville were all in the training room, waiting for everyone else to arrive. Buffy was nervous, to say the least.

            "It'll be fine, Buffy." Harry soothed, "Don't worry."

            "It'll give you a reason to let loose on Malfoy." Ron put in.

            "Thanks Ron." Buffy said sarcastically.

            "You'll do great, Buffy. You know this stuff better than anyone, and everyone is eager to learn- you won't have any problem." Hermione told her.

            "Yeah." Neville said, but looked awkward. 

            "What's up?" Harry asked him.

            "I… nothing. I was just wondering _how_ you know it all." 

            "Oh, experience." Buffy said oddly. "I've just… well, the town I lived in before I came here was real rough…"

            "Is it from 'slayage'?" He said nervously. Buffy's eyes widened.

            "Where did you hear that?"

            "From you. I was in the common room the other night… I think you guys must have thought it was empty. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I heard you talking."

            "Oh." Buffy said.

            "I looked it up… or, 'slayer' at least. The books say they aren't real… but they are, aren't they? You're the slayer, the chosen one…"

            "Yeah." Buffy replied quickly before her could start the spiel. "That's me… But you can't say anything, Neville, ok? Too many people know already, I'm crap at this secret identity thing…"

            "Your secret's safe with me." Neville said smiling. Buffy chuckled,

            "Cool."

Roughly a minute later, students started arriving, and soon enough the room was packed with excited sixth years from all houses, including Malfoy and his cronies. Buffy took a quick register, and looked over the group.

            "Ok… I gotta start by saying I've never done this before. I've never trained anyone… but I _do_ know my stuff. You guys want to learn to defend yourselves, and I'm gonna try to teach you." A hand shot up. "Malfoy?" She said.

            "What is the point?" He sneered. "If someone attacks you with a wand, what good will muggle defence do?"

            "You tell me. You're the one who signed up." She replied.

            "I signed up merely to see what you had to show."

            "Well then why don't you come up here?" Buffy said. Malfoy looked a bit put out, but did as he was told. He and Buffy stood facing each other, a few feet apart. "What is the first thing you try to do to an opponent?" Buffy asked him.

            "Disarm them." He replied.

            "Right." She said with a smile. "So what do you do when you face me, here," She held out her empty hands, "Without a wand?" Malfoy didn't answer. "See, with physical combat, I got my weapons right here." Buffy held up her fists. "So if I was in a fight, and I lost my wand, or I got disarmed, instead of thinking, 'oh crap, now I'm screwed' as I'm sure plenty of you would, I think, 'oh well, no matter'."

            "Still doesn't explain what you do about your opponent, who _does_ have a wand." Malfoy said, smirking. Buffy smiled, and held her arms out to the side, as if presenting a target.

            "Go on then, take your best shot."  She said completely seriously. Everyone watched with baited breath as Malfoy took out his wand, and held it ready. As his lips formed the word,

            "Stupefy." But the blast missed Buffy by far as she dodged. Malfoy frowned, and tried again. Buffy dodged.

            "You see…" 

            "STUPIFY!"

            "Even if…"

            "IMPEDIMENTA!"

            "You aren't as fast…"

            "STUPIFY!"

            "As me…"

            "STUPIFY!"

            "You can still…" 

            "IMPEDIMENTA!"

            "Dodge…"

            "STUPIFY!"

            "Or just do this…" She shrugged, and as Malfoy raised his wand once more, Buffy stepped forwards, and kicked the wand from his fingers. The spell hit the ceiling with no effect, and landed gently in Buffy's hand. 

            "Opponent's wand not a problem." She said amiably to Malfoy through the whoops and cheers of all but the Slytherins. 

            The session continued from then without interruption. Malfoy seemed irritated, but clearly impressed, and followed Buffy's instructions just like everyone else. She took them all through some basic defences, and a couple of fighting moves, pairing them off and helping individuals. At the end of the hour session, they were tired, but grinning, all enjoying their first insight into 'muggle defence'. They trailed out at the end, calling their thanks, and chatting excitedly about what they would learn next week. When only the small group was left once more, Buffy squealed, and Harry hugged her,

            "That was wicked." He said. "You did good."

            "Thanks." She said with a wide grin. The others agreed, and Hermione hugged the older girl too,

            "Very cool." She said. 

            "Anyone else for collapsing motionless in the common room?" Ron said smiling. They laughed,

            "Oh yeah." Harry said.

            "Buffy?" Hermione asked.

            "In a bit. I'm gonna clear up here, but I'll join you."

            "Ok. See you in a bit then." Harry said.

            "Yeah."

            "Oh, and way to slap Malfoy down." Harry added. Buffy laughed, and watched them go. She circled the room, straightening things up, even though they didn't really need it, and thinking over her first class. Buffy slumped down on a vault, and smiled to herself, so pleased that she was somewhere where her skills were accepted and appreciated, even if few knew why she had them.

            Harry and the others entered the common room to an excited babble.

            "Harry, that was so cool!" Dean cried, "Your sister is amazing!"

            "Yeah, where'd she learn all that?" Seamus agreed.

            "Have you ever seen a look like that on Malfoy's face?" Pavarti laughed.

            "Yeah, that was bloody priceless."

Harry barely got an answer in, he was so bombarded with the questions. He could see that Buffy's lesson had been an undisputed hit, and that students from all other years were looking forward to their own chance for a session with the elder Potter sibling. Eventually, the group found that people weren't really looking for answers, but merely chatting among themselves, so they settled in chairs, and did the same.

            "So when did you overhear Buffy and me talking, Neville?" Harry asked.

            "The other night." He replied, "I was a little confused by it." 

            "Understandably." Hermione said, "So were we. But she's cool really."

            "Yeah, I got that." Neville agreed. "Has she shown you that stuff before, Harry?"

            "Oh a little." Harry replied, trying not to sound to pompous. "She showed me a bit, and I went patrolling with her a couple of times."

            "Yeah, Harry reckons he's on his way to being the first male sl… Ouch!" Hermione had elbowed Ron in the ribs,

            "Are you stupid?" She whispered, "Don't go saying that in the middle of the common room! People aren't meant to know, remember!?"

            "Sorry."  He said sulkily. "But everyone is going out anyway, to tell people about the session…"

            "Still!" Hermione exclaimed. "There are plenty of people in here to hear."

            "Ok, ok, fine, I'll be more careful."

            Back in the training room, Buffy was gazing out of the window, when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned to see Malfoy standing in the doorway.

            "Malfoy. What do you want?" She asked.

            "Just to say thanks." He said in a tone that suggested very differently.

            "No problem." Buffy replied.

            "So where did you learn all this, anyway?" He asked, stepping in. Buffy shrugged,

            "Here an' there. I had classes back home." This wasn't a complete lie, of course.

            "Ah. My mother tells me that my father was intrigued to hear of the plans for these sessions."

            "Good for you."

Malfoy looked at her oddly, as if appraising her, and Buffy starred right back, finding his attempt to intimidate her rather amusing. Finally Buffy had had enough, "Look, Malfoy, it really is sweet you making excuses to be around me more, but I got stuff to do."

            "What?" The boy growled. Buffy smirked.

            "You want some… private lessons?" she said in a low voice. He looked petrified for a moment, but then smiled,

            "Maybe I do." He said. Buffy sidled over to him, and looked him right in the eye. 

            "Well then…" She said teasingly, "Get your rich ass parents to get you some." She finished snappily, and he looked furious.

            "You'll learn who to respect soon enough, _Potter_." He spat, before turning on his heel and hurrying out. Buffy smiled happily, and made for the door herself. A squawk turned her back, however, and an owl flew through the window- the owl she'd sent to the scoobies. She grinned, and took the envelope it held, stroking his feathers. The bird took off again, heading back to the owlery for a rest after the long journey. Buffy sat on the window seat, and opened the letter. Willow's familiar scrawl widened Buffy's smile, but not for long.

Dear Buffy,

            It's so weird that we got your letter just minutes ago. We're glad that you're well, and Giles would be writing this letter if he wasn't too busy pacing… Buffy, you were right in your letter, when you said you thought Faith might wake up.

Buffy stood up.

We got a call a couple of hours ago- she's awake. She's gone, Buffy, from the hospital, just disappeared. All the security cameras went blank, and all the guards and staff seemed to have blacked out, and she was just gone. Buffy, I hate to suggest this, but it looks like magic could have been involved. She was in a deep coma, they didn't think she would ever wake up, let alone that quickly. Oh god, Buffy, we thought maybe you should talk to Dumbledore- what if it was Voldemort? What if her took her; woke her up and took her with him? I hope this reaches you quickly Buffy, we didn't know how else to contact you. I hope nothing bad happens, please contact us as soon as possible, Buffy.

All our love,

            Willow, Xander, Oz and Giles.

Buffy dropped the piece of paper, and pivoted into a run. She fled through the door, and down the corridor, knocking Malfoy aside as she went. Students leapt out of the way of the slayer, who was practically flying down the corridors, but felt that it was taking hours. She could hear nothing but her heart hammering in her chest, and her vision seemed thinned to the direct path she was taking. As she approached her portrait door, she yelled,

            "Summers!" her password, and Fairfax swung forwards so that she could shoot through when she reached the doorway. Buffy's mind kept skipping to the dream, as she lunged at the common room door, and life seemed to go into slow motion. She skidded to a halt on the other side of the door. Students stood scattered about the room, Hermione, Ron and Neville at one side, wands raised. But all of them, like Buffy, were starring wide eyed at that which her dreams had not allowed her to see: the two people in the middle of the room, and the razor sharp knife-edge against her brother's throat.

            "Hey B. Long time no see."

-------

Hee hee. Review please!


	34. The other slayer

Oh my god! Wow!! You lot rock soooo much!! I love you guys!! 1000 reviews!! I… wow. *grins* thank you so so much. It really does mean a lot to me, even if that sounds lame!! So thanks!

To all of you who asked questions about what's gonna happen with Faith, you're going to have to wait and see!! And to everyone who asked how I could leave  cliff hanger like that… cos its oh so fun!!

Becks89- Language, girl!!

Blake5- MAN!? Girl, sweetie. I'm a GIRL!!

Villagemystic- Are you American or English then? Far as I know you can call it either, vault or horse. Same thing.

Anyway, on with the chapter, I'm glad you're all anticipating Buffy- Faith interaction, fun fun fun. I'm not telling tho!!

So… obviously go read Becks89, witchlight and shootingstar19's stories (after mine) cos they're very groovy people and writers!! 

But now…

Chapter 34 

_Previously:_

_Students stood scattered about the room, Hermione, Ron and Neville at one side, wands raised. But all of them, like Buffy, were starring wide eyed at the two people in the middle of the room, and razor sharp knife edge against her brothers throat._

_            "Hey B. Long time no see."_

            "Faith." Buffy gasped, terrified to move a muscle. The dark slayer was holding the knife at Harry's throat, his head arch back away from the blade, but his body held fast against the slayer with her other arm. His eyes were wide and scared- unlike the others in the room, he knew _exactly_ who Faith was, and what she was capable of. "Faith…" Buffy said again, "It doesn't have to be like this…"

            "Actually, I think it has to be _exactly_ like this- you tried to gut me, blondy."

            "Faith, please…"

            "So this is your lil' bro, huh?" Faith said conversationally, ignoring Buffy's plea. Buffy watched out of the corner of her eye as Hermione circle behind Faith, clearly preparing to stun her. Faith rolled her eyes, "Try it, girly." She said, "And Harry here loses a neck." Hermione froze.

            "Faith you don't know what you're doing…" Buffy insisted.

            "Actually, I do. I know exactly what I'm doing, and…" She paused, glancing at the clock on the common room wall, "Y'know, I'd love to stick around and chat, but me an' the little bit here gotta blaze." She moved her hand to clasp Harry's, forcing him to hold the portkey in her grasp. "See ya around, B." She said with a grin. Buffy leapt forwards, screaming, 

            "NO!" But by the time she passed through their position, they were gone, disappearing into thin air. Buffy cast around, as if expecting to see Harry and Faith somewhere else in the room, but obviously they weren't. She spun round several times more, students keeping well out of her way, before she made up her mind, and ran to the portrait hole, throwing it open and jumping through. Hermione Ron and Neville shared merely a glance before hurrying after her.

            "Buffy!" Hermione called down the hall. Buffy ignored her, and kept running. They set off running after her, Hermione crying, "Buffy! Wait!" the slayer slowed to a quick walk, but didn't stop. After a couple of corridors, the Gryffindors caught up with her, panting for breath. "Buffy, who the hell was that!?" Hermione gasped.

            "That was Faith." Buffy said unhelpfully.

            "Who's Faith?" Ron asked.

            "Faith is the _other_ slayer." Buffy replied. The three stopped dead, gaping, and looked at each other to see if it made more sense to anyone else. When it was clear that they were all baffled, they set off running again to catch Buffy.

            "How can she be another slayer? There can only be one!" Hermione cried.

            "Yeah, the books say that a new one only comes when the current slayer dies." Neville agreed.

            "Uh-huh, figure it out." Buffy snapped, her pace not failing.

            "But Buffy…" Hermione began, only to realise they had reached the gargoyle that marked the entrance to Dumbledore's office. Buffy rapped out the password and disappeared through the wall before they could follow. At the top of the stairs, Buffy threw open the door, and marched in. Dumbledore and McGonogall looked up, shocked at the entrance, but Buffy took no heed.

            "She took him." She exclaimed. "We have to find her, find him, save him, now." 

            "Excuse me?" Dumbledore replied, "Who, Buffy?"

            "Faith! Faith took him!"

            "Who is Faith? And who did she take?" McGonogall asked the hysterical slayer. Buffy was incensed,

            "Faith! She's the other slayer- psycho, crazy, wacko slayer who woke up and kidnapped my _brother!_"

            "Another slayer?" Dumbledore exclaimed, "And she took Harry? When? How?"

            "Portkey, three minutes ago. We have to find them, now! Where is Voldemort's hideout?"

            "Buffy, it's not that simple. If we knew where Voldemort was hiding, things would be much simpler…"

            "Well we need to find him! Can't you just do a locator spell?"

            "Buffy, such a spell does not exist… we have tried everything we have to find Voldemort, but…" McGonogall was cut off by no more than Buffy's glare.

            "Well in that case, I need a portkey to Sunnydale, right this second." Buffy demanded.

            "Wait." Dumbledore insisted. "You must calm down, Buffy. Tell me exactly what happened."

            "Got a letter from Willow, said Faith woke up. I put two and two together, legged it to the common room, and she was there with a knife to Harry's throat. She had a port key, and disappeared moments after I got there. She has to be working with Voldemort, from the way she left the hospital, and the portkey- she _has_ to be…"

            "Buffy, calm down, please." Dumbledore said desperately. The slayer was barely making sense, and breathing so hard he feared she would pass out. To top off the effect, her eyes were wild, scary even. He forced her into a seat, and Buffy leant her head in her hands in despair. It was more than just the fact that Voldemort probably had Harry; it was that Faith was with Voldemort. Though she had told few, Buffy had always harboured the hope that Faith would wake up and be sorry for what she had done. She had desperately wanted Faith back, as a friend, as a sister slayer. And now she was in league with possibly the most evil human being on the planet. Buffy sucked in a breath, grasping her demeanour, and looking back up to Dumbledore,

            "I'll be needing that portkey." She said steadily.

            "Of course." Dumbledore replied. "Minerva, will you inform all who need to know of the situation, and you may need to do damage control in the Gryffindor common room."

            "Of course Dumbledore." She left quickly, while Dumbledore picked up a Phoenix feather from his desk, and touched it with his wand, saying,

            "Portus." He handed it to Buffy, and said,

            "It will take you to your Sunnydale home one minute from now. When you wish to return, touch it with you wand and say 'return'."

            "Thanks." Buffy said.

            "Will you be alright?" Dumbledore asked.

            "Of course I'll be ok… I have to find him." Buffy said.

            "We will." Dumbledore promised. He touched her arm reassuringly, "But I _will_ need you to explain all this later."

            "I get that." Buffy said nodding. "Well… bye." She felt the familiar sensation of a portkey, and was swept away. When her feet hit the carpet of her living room back in Sunnydale, she heard several gasps, and Willow cried,

            "Buffy!"

            "Will." They hugged, Buffy glad of the support as she still found portkey landings wobbly. She looked around to see the whole gang in her living room.

            "You don't mind us…" Willow began.

            "No, of course not, the house would get lonely." Buffy said, forcing a laugh, but they could all see the effort it took.

            "Buffy, what happened?" Giles exclaimed.

            "Faith." Buffy said quietly. "She used a portkey to get into school, and she… she took Harry."

            "Dear lord." Giles gasped.

            "Our letter…" Willow said.

            "I got it just before. When I read it, I just knew… I ran to the common room, and she was there." 

            "She just took him?" Xander said incredulously. Buffy shrugged,

            "Well, y'know, held a knife to his throat, taunted me a bit, and then took him."

            "Oh goddess, Buffy…" Willow breathed.

            "Will, I need your help." Buffy said firmly, "Can you do a locator spell? I just gotta find where they are…"

            "Of course." Willow said immediately. "I've not done it often, so ill need a book… but I can be real quick, I know exactly where it is in my dorm room…"

            "Where, exactly?" Buffy asked. Willow frowned, but told her the book title and it's exact location. "And where's your room mate?" Buffy asked.

            "Out for the day."

            "Ok, wait just a sec." Much to all their shock, Buffy disappeared with a loud crack, only to reappear roughly twenty seconds later with the right book in hand.

            "Whoa." Xander exclaimed.

            "Handy." Oz commented. Buffy shrugged,

            "One of the better forms of Wizard transport." She said. "This the right one?" She asked Willow, who nodded.

            "I'll need some ingredients too…"

            "I'm willing to bet its nothing Snape wont have." Buffy replied.

            "Oh… ok." Willow said, feeling rather out of control.

            "Just hold on to this, and it'll take us back." Buffy told her, holding out the feather. Willow did as she was told, and the guys suddenly jumped up and grabbed hold too. Buffy looked wide eyed round at them all.

            "Don't think there's any way we're not coming." Xander said with his funny lopsided grin. Buffy smiled her first real smile since she'd read that letter, and pulled her wand from her hair, producing more confuse looks. She raised one eyebrow in amusement, and touched the feather with her wand.

            "Return." She said, and they were whisked away from Revello drive.

            Dumbledore paced his office, thinking of anything more her could do to locate Harry. He had sent various old head's of the school to their other portraits to collect intel, and sent for Snape and Lupin, but he was impatient for Buffy to return, though he was sceptical about what help she might find in Sunnydale. Just as he was considering this, not five minutes after Buffy had left, a group of people materialised in his office.

            "Buffy." He exclaimed, surprised by the speed of her journey.

            "Heya Dumbledore." She replied. The scoobies looked around the room at all Dumbledore's incredible possessions, finally setting their gaze on the old wizard they had heard so much about but never actually met. Buffy looked around at her friends, feeling a swell of pleasure to be with them once more, and said to Dumbledore, "This is the gang: Giles, Willow, Xander and Oz. Guys, this is Dumbledore." They all nodded greetings, all of them stiff with the shock of the situation that had set in, in no more than ten minutes. "Willow?" Buffy began, taking charge as usual. "What ingredients do you need?"

            "Well… there's several ways to do it, it'll depend what you got."

            "Ok. Dumbledore, do you think Snape would allow us to have a peek in his ingredient store?" But before Dumbledore could answer, the man himself entered with Lupin and McGonogall, and Fairfax appeared in a portrait on the wall.

            "Did I hear my name?" Snape asked.

            "Yup." Buffy replied. She had no time for his stuffiness or silly pride. She indicated Willow, and said, "Could you please help my friend to gather the ingredients she needs for a locator spell?"

Snape looked utterly bewildered, clearly wondering where on earth or otherwise all these people had come from. He glanced at Dumbledore, who nodded, so he just said,

            "Of course." and beckoned for Willow to follow him. Buffy smiled encouragingly, and then turned to Lupin as they left, Oz slipping out behind Willow.

            "You heard?" she asked Lupin.

            "Of course." He replied. "We will find him, Buffy."

            "I know." She said quietly, only now realising how similar Lupin was to her watcher.

            "What can I do?" He asked.

            "Find anything you can on what defences Voldemort might have, or anything else you can about his sitch."

            "Of course… erm, Buffy?"

            "Yeah?"

            "Harry's friends are outside the door by the gargoyle… they are rather distraught, as you can imagine."

            "Oh crap… of course." Buffy sighed. "Dumbledore, is there anything else we can do right now?"

            "Not that I can think of, Buffy." He sighed, "Talk to Harry's friends." 

Buffy nodded, and left the room with Giles and Xander in tow, as well as Fairfax, though only in paintings.

            "Buffy!" Hermione cried when she emerged with the others. Buffy's eyes widened, for the group had grown. Not only were there Hermione Ron and Neville, but Ginny and Luna too. They looked just as surprised to see Giles and Xander.

            "Er, Giles, Xander, this is Hermione, Ron, Neville, Ginny and Luna. And this is Giles, and Xander." Buffy made the quick introductions, and waited for the flow of questions.

            "How can there be two slayers?" Hermione gasped.

            "I drowned, got revived: died but am alive. Pretty simple." Buffy summarised.

            "Wow." Ron murmured.

            "You're a slayer?" Luna said, sounding vaguely interested. Buffy groaned,

            "Oh bloody hell, I'm hopeless at this." she said. Xander gaped at her, and started giggling maniacally. Buffy rolled her eyes, "Brilliant."

            "You said 'bloody hell'." Xander tittered.

            "So not the time, Xand." Buffy said withering.

            "Yes, grow up." Giles scolded, though he couldn't conceal his own amusement. Buffy shook her head and ignored them.

            "Yes, Luna, I'm the slayer, but you can't tell anyone, ok?"

            "Ok." The girl shrugged. "… so the girl who took Harry was also a slayer?" She asked.

            "We told her what happened." Hermione explained.

            "Yes, Faith is a slayer too." Buffy said quietly.

            "But, Buffy… if she's a slayer, why was she… well… aren't slayers meant to be the good guys?" Hermione finished weakly.

            "Yes." Buffy said, feeling very tired, "It's a long story."

            "So what did she mean when she said you tried to gut her?" Ron asked tactlessly. Giles and Xander looked sharply at Buffy, noticing she had missed out that particular part of the proceedings. Buffy couldn't meet any of their eyes. Despite her fury, and knowledge that she should hate Faith for what she was doing, and what she had done, Buffy still felt sick with shame at the thought that she had almost killed Faith; that she had _intended_ to kill Faith. When she allowed herself to think about it, which was rarely, Buffy found herself comparing her own actions to those that had condemned Faith, and she knew that when Faith had killed the deputy mayor, it was totally accidental and bore no malice what so ever, but when Buffy thrust that knife into her sister slayer, no matter the events that came before, she knew precisely what she was doing- she _meant_ to kill her; the fact that she didn't was purely the irony that the world seemed to deem necessary in the life of the slayer.

            "Buffy?" Said Xander, his voice seeming miles away. "Buff? You still with us?" He took her arm, supporting her when her saw her wilt. Buffy didn't stumble, but leant heavily on her friend, looking up into his eyes with all her pain, sorrow and fear showing right up front. 

            "Xander…" She sobbed without a single tear.

            "I know." He said quietly. "I know." 

Quarter of an hour later, the group were standing at the edge of a spare classroom, the tables and chairs magicked aside. Willow was sitting cross legged on the floor with her ingredients spread before her, and several maps Dumbledore had produced from (literally) nowhere. 

            "I'll start with a wider area, using the map of Britain, and narrow it down progressively, k?" Willow explained. "Do we have something of his?"

            "Oh, erm…" Buffy looked around. 

            "This is his wand." Hermione said, handing it over. "He dropped in when Faith grabbed him."

            "That should do it." Willow said. They all stood back and watched as she worked her mojo, and Buffy nearly cried with happiness when a tiny light appeared on the map, proving that Harry was still alive. They narrowed it down until they got to the smallest scale map they had. Willow murmured some words, but instead of the light appearing again to show his precise location, the map suddenly burst into flames. "Ah, ah, not good, not good!" Willow cried, leaping away from the burning paper. Dumbledore smothered the flames with a wave of his wand, and they all looked to the red haired witch for an explanation. She shrugged, "I don't know… I guess Voldemort must have some sorta protection spell up that's blocking us… still, we have a rough location, and from the look of it there weren't many buildings in that area."

            "Lets just hope that that didn't send up some alarm." Buffy murmured.

            "Yes. We should mobilise The Order immediately." Dumbledore said.

            "Send 'em along asap." Buffy said. Everyone paused a moment, before the meaning of her words got over. By this time, she had already marched over to the window.

            "Buffy?" Giles said warily, "What do you mean?"

She didn't reply, but looked out, estimating the distance to the ground.

            "Buffy?" Willow and Xander said in unison. Those who didn't know Buffy as well didn't know why they were so worried, until Buffy said,

            "See ya soon." And vaulted over the windowsill. 

            "BUFFY!" They all yelled.

------

Hope you like, please review!!!

-Sam 


	35. Five by Five

Heya guys. Thanks so much (yet again) for all the reviews, it's really amazing!!

To all of you who sed you think I don't like Faith much- you made me laugh *grins*, have u read any of my other faith stories? 

And to all of you who asked what's going to happen… not telling!! That's the point of the story!! *grins again*

Oh, and all you who said I clearly enjoy giving you all the stress of cliffies… well, you were right. :D So so fun. Lol.

So…

All go read witchlight, Becks89 and shootingstar19's stories cos they are extremely groovy.

!!HAPPY EASTER EVERYBODY!! (yey holidays, no school, lotsa writing time, and … L revision for AS exams… oh well)

This chapter is a little shorter than usual, but I think you will see, and hopefully understand, that I just got to a place where it needed to end.

Chapter 35-Five by Five

Landing cat like on the ground several floors below, Buffy winced, and straightened,

            "Note to self, don't do that again." She murmured, then set off at a dead run towards the Hogwarts limits. She had tried to apparate despite what Harry had told her, but nothing had happened, so she'd decided to do the next best thing. She ran full speed until she passed through the Hogwarts gates, when she disapparated with a loud crack, and found herself in a field, not far from a huge old stone house which was the biggest marked building on the map. From the uber-creepy vibe Buffy was getting, it was almost certainly Voldemort's current base of operations.

            Buffy ducked quickly behind a nearby bush, and carefully surveyed the area. There was nobody around. She could see no one at the windows, and no one guarded the door on the outside- clearly Voldemort didn't expect any visitors. Buffy patted her hair to ensure she still had her wand, and checked her trousers for a stake.

            "Show time." She said to herself. She ran quickly towards the house, irritated that there was no more cover, but truly more bothered about getting in quickly. She peered through a couple of windows, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Moving to the front door, Buffy lifted the knocker, and knocked loudly twice. Then she quickly backed up, hiding just out of sight. She heard muffled voices, someone saying,

            "I don't see anybody."

            "You sure? There must be someone, that wasn't the bloody wind!"

            "Look for yourself."

            "The master isn't gonna be happy about this."

            "Come on, we'd better check. Isn't that slayer meant to be bringing the Potter b…" But he never got to say more. That was all Buffy had needed to hear, so at that moment she had rushed forward and kicked the partially open door hard, knocking the man unconscious. The other one drew his wand, but never got to use it as a fist floored him in moments. Buffy shook her head in disbelief- _this_ is what they put on guard? Though she had never voiced the thought, knowing everyone else was thinking it too, she had been sure that if Faith was working with Voldemort, the dark lord would now know that Buffy was the slayer. But if that was the case, then why was there only two incompetent Death Eaters on guard? Buffy proceeded more cautiously, her heart thumping in her chest as she went. She was in a long hall, with several doors leading off from it. Each door she tried was locked, and somehow she felt she should check them all before she started with alohomora.

            Buffy turned the handle of the very last door, and met no resistance. Her heart in her mouth, Buffy pushed the door open, and slipped round the side. Buffy's eyes traced the room from the door in the opposite corner- it looked like a sitting room, decorated almost medievally. Suddenly Buffy froze. Leaning casually against the back of a sofa, was Faith.

            "I was wondering how long it would take you." She said, a very disturbing smile on her face.

            "Faith." Buffy said, stepping in properly and closing the door. "Your guards are crap."

            "Yeah, Voldy has a serious ego problem, not big on the security."

            "Pretty stupid, considering." Buffy replied. Faith's lips quirked in amusement. "Didn't you tell him your other half might be dropping in?" Buffy said stiffly. Now Faith full out smirked,

            "I told him I could handle it."

            "You really think you can? Three months in a coma can't do much for your skills, and I beat you _before_ that."

            "I remember. How'd it feel, by the way?" Faith said, sounding genuinely curious. "Y'know, sliding that knife right into me? Stabbing me like another worthless demon?" Buffy felt bile rising in her throat, her stomach churning, but she kept it from showing. "Oh, right." Faith continued before Buffy could say anything. "You think I'm worse than that, huh? Cos demons don't have souls, an' I do."

            "I…" Buffy began, her mouth feeling incredibly dry. She bit back, knowing that Faith was trying to get at her. So she took control of the conversation. "Where's Harry?" She asked.

            "The little bit? He's close enough by." Faith replied.

            "Where _is_ he?" Buffy repeated.

            "You really love 'im, huh? Funny that you never mentioned that you had a little bro. What happened, your Mom produced him from a closet and said, oh by the way, this is your little brother?"

Buffy felt her teeth grinding.

            "You have _no_ idea." She said. Faith smiled sadly, and sighed,

            "I think he loved you too, you know. The look in his eyes… it was like he was so shocked that you didn't make it, y'know? Like he couldn't believe it was ending without you."

            "No." Buffy said weakly. "No. You didn't. You _couldn't._"

            "Couldn't I?" Faith said, the smirk back. "Why the hell not, B? I'm a monster, remember?"

            "No." Buffy repeated in barely more than a whisper.

            "Yes." Faith replied with glee. Buffy starred at her in disbelief, studying Faith's face for some sign of the lie. She could see none, and as her eyes traced down, something caught her eye. Something on Faith's hand that was supporting her against the sofa in such a relaxed fashion. Red. Faith followed Buffy's gaze, and raised her hand, smiling, to show a streak of blood across her palm. She raised her eyes back to Buffy's and smiled.

            Rage flared within the blonde slayer. She vaulted over a sofa, and cried in a barely human tone,

            "You bitch… I'll kill you!"

            "That's the spirit." Faith murmured, dropping into a fighting stance. Buffy swung a fist, and the dance began, each slayer dodging and striking, no holds barred.  "Come on, B, you can do better than that!" Faith taunted. Buffy said nothing, just hitting every part of Faith's body she could reach. Faith spun away from a kick, and laughed maniacally. "You can't take me!" She declared, "No one can take me!" Buffy shut her mouth with a spinning kick, and Faith laughed again. "You have no idea, B." She chuckled. 

            "Then show me!" Buffy yelled. The battle stepped up to a level neither really knew existed, each moving so fast that conscious decisions were no part of it. Each knew the other's moves so well she could predict exactly what the other would do next, lashing and turning in perfect synchronicity. Each hit was countered immediately, neither faltering, until Buffy backhanded Faith across the face, and the dark haired slayer stumbled. A foot to the midriff took her down, and the next moment Buffy was straddling her waist, knees on the ground and stake raised. Her hand dropped quickly, but stopped as the tip of the stake grazed Faith's shirt. Faith was looking straight up, no shock or fear in her eyes. Her arms were free, and yet she made no move to stop the weapon. Buffy was breathing heavily from the most high speed fight she'd ever had, and she frowned. Faith looked up at her with annoyance.

            "So you gonna do it or what?" She snapped. And something snapped within Buffy at the same time. She shook her head, not in answer, but something else. "You got this far, you've won. Do it." Faith snarled. Images and sounds were flowing through Buffy's mind, and her frown deepened, though she didn't raise the stake. 

_Triumph will not solve anything._

            "No." Buffy said suddenly, standing up. 

            "What?" Faith exclaimed angrily. Buffy marched towards the door on the opposite side from which she had entered. "I killed your brother, idiot!" Faith cried. She ran after Buffy, grabbing at her arm as she reached the door. Buffy swung quickly, smacking Faith away. As Faith fell to the ground, Buffy turned the handle on the door, and pushed. Her world was in slow motion again, sound seeming dimmed to a minimum. She stepped into the room, and gasped. Sound, colour and speed rushed back as she ran to Harry's side. He was lying on the ground, gagged and tied, blood all around him, but wriggling, eyes wide- very much alive.

            "Harry." Buffy exclaimed, pulling away the gag and starting on his ropes, "Oh god, Harry, are you ok?"

            "Yeah." He said, sounding confused. "Yeah, I'm ok."

            "She didn't hurt you?" Buffy asked.

            "No." Harry replied.

            "So where is Voldemort?" was the next question. In answer, Harry pointed with his newly freed hand. Buffy turned to look, and saw that a trail of blood lead from by Harry all the way over to a figure on the other side of the room. She frowned again- he was dressed in black robes, and as she walked cautiously over, she saw his skin was deathly pale. But he was unconscious, slumped on the floor. He too was bound with strips of some thick red material, and more blood was pooled on the floor around him. "What the hell?" Buffy murmured. 

            "I thought she was gonna kill me…" Harry began, but was interrupted by a terrible scream, of rage, rather than pain. Faith had reappeared in the doorway, and threw herself at Buffy, the fight resuming in moments. 

            "You have no idea what true evil is!" She yelled. Buffy dodged and hit when she could, but found her fury had faded into confusion. Faith shoved Buffy hard, and they rolled over each other back into the first room. As Faith yelled, "I 'm evil! I'm bad! You don't know what true evil is!" Over and over, things began to fall into place in Buffy's mind, and she no longer threw punches. She blocked Faiths shots as they came, and heard herself saying,

            "I wont do it, Faith."

But still Faith continued, until her voice cracked, and the screams became sobs,

            "Just do it!" She wailed, "I'm evil, so do it already! Just kill me! Why wont you kill me? Just do it! Just do it…" She seemed to crumble, her legs giving way, and Buffy sinking with her, supporting the other slayer with wide and comprehending eyes. "Just kill me…" Faith sobbed, tears flowing freely and Buffy wrapped her arms around the crying teen. Harry stood back, utterly bewildered, with no idea what to do. Apparently Faith was a lot more complicated than he had thought. Not long ago he had expected her to kill him, or to stand by and watch as Voldemort did, but now she was crouched on the ground, shaking like a child, though Harry hoped that no child would ever cry with such pain laced into every sob. Buffy clung to the other slayer, her face a mixture of relief, sorrow and confusion, but somehow understanding too. Harry felt his heart clench with pity for the girl he didn't know; for she who had bought him here, for some reason that he did not know.

----------

Hope you like- Any of you who watch angel will know that that was inspired by the scene where basically the same thing actually happens with Angel and Faith. It nearly made me cry when I saw it, so I just had to use it!! 

I'm going away tomorrow (skiing, first time eva!!) and I wont be back til Easter, so I wont be able to update for a week, sorry!

So please review, and I'll update when I get back.

-Sam


	36. Why?

Heya people! Happy Easter!

Skiing rules! One week of lessons and I did a red run in a white out, without falling over! Yey me. Fun.

ANYWAY… thanks for the reviews, I love you lot. To clear up a bit of confusion, (phoenix83ad especially- calm down!!) Faith did _not_ kill Voldemort, I don't cop out that much!! Not a chance, don't worry. He was unconscious, yes, but not dead. As for how he _can_ be killed, I have a few theories of my own, which will come into play later. 

The reviews mostly seemed to follow a few themes, so I'll just do general replies since Becks89 is currently (as in as I type this) bugging me to update.

I'm glad you guys liked my adaption of the Angel scene, it always seemed like a very significant moment in Faith-verse as people who haven't seen it didn't seem to get the whole 'Faith is GOOD' thing by season 7 of Btvs. I got a little angry… *grins* 

Scoobies _will_ be in it some more soon. *grins again* I have plans, especially for a certain one…

Ooh, yey, I'm also glad you liked the fight, I know I've had  bit of a lack of decent fight scenes, so I'm happy you think I made it work!

Ok, I think that's it, so I'll finish up. This chapter seems a little odd to me, cos it's all part of some stuff that's going to last several chapters, never mind, its nice an long for you anyway!

All go read Witchlight, Becks89 and shootingstar19's stories, I'm about to go read all the updates I've missed in the past week- hours and hours of mindless reading in store (of _what_ a pity, what _will _I do? *grins*)

Great, so on with the chapter while I go read lots and eat copious amounts of chocolate as lent is now over (YEY!)

Chapter 36 

            Buffy didn't know how long she held Faith. She kept murmuring,

            "Ssh, it's ok. It'll be ok." As her heart broke with the realisation of what Faith had meant for her to do. Buffy looked up into Harry's bewildered eyes, and smiled softly. He nodded slowly back to her. When Buffy looked down again, Harry backtracked into the room in which he had been held, thinking of what Dumbledore had told him last term, along with all that Buffy had told him about Faith.

            "Ssh." Buffy said again, leaning her head on Faith's. Then she heard a yelp, and looked up quickly. Harry ran back in from the other room, and cried,

            "He's gone. Voldemort has gone."

            "Gone? But he was all tied up, and…"

            "Well he's not anymore." Harry insisted.

            "Crap." Buffy moaned. "Ok, we gotta get outta here." She looked down at the other slayer, trying to get her to look up. "Faith? We gotta go."

            "Just leave me." She replied in a small voice.

            "If you did what I _think_ you did, he'll kill you." Buffy snapped.

            "Not seeing the problem there." Faith replied, her voice still barely more than a whisper. Buffy heaved Faith away from her, holding her shoulders and jerking her back, forcing her to look at Buffy.

            "Don't be so stupid!" She snapped. "You really think its that simple? No way am I letting you take that road out. It hurts, it's hard, but you _have_ to _fight_. You are not giving up like this."

Faith just gazed at her dazedly for a moment before dropping her gaze again. "Come on, get up." Buffy ordered. Faith didn't move, and though Harry expected Buffy to rap out another order, instead her face softened, and she practically lifted Faith off the ground. "Come on." She said. Buffy supported Faith, who Harry only now realised was exhausted in every way, and the trio started as quick as they could towards the door. Buffy thanked anyone listening that Voldemort was so confident in himself that he had few guards. Never the less, she was certain that there would be at least some more, and knew that she was in no state to fight off an squad of armed deatheaters. They hurried down the hall, and out of the door, constantly expecting Voldemort to appear- where the hell was he? As they started into the field, there was a flicker in the air before them and a large group appeared.

            "Buffy! Harry!" Several people cried once more. It was the Order and the scoobies, Buffy thought with relief, but eyes were now moving from Buffy to the one she was supporting.

            "Erm, Buff? Care to explain?" Xander said.

            "Not now. We need to go, quick." Buffy said. "I think Voldemort is hurt, but we don't know where he is, and if we stay in the open like this he could curse us any second."

            "Yes. I agree." Dumbledore said. "A group of us must stay to secure this location, but if Voldemort is around, an armed…"

            "Erm…" Said a weak voice, and Buffy looked down at Faith, who was digging in a jacket pocket, "I'm no expert, but…" She pulled out two broken piece of wood, with what looked like feathers poking out of the ends. "I'm pretty sure this means he's not armed."

            "Is that what I think it is?" Moody asked with a wry smile.

            "His wand." Buffy said with a grin. Faith shrugged, conjuring the tiniest of smiles,

            "Hey, sometimes my destructive nature pays off." 

Buffy smiled back, genuinely.

            "Still." Dumbledore said. "Take this portkey and return to the school. Tonks, Lupin, go with them and make sure Hagrid and the others who came know you have returned."

            "Yes sir." Tonks said. 

            "And Buffy?" Dumbledore added,

            "Yeah?"

            "Obviously I don't know what happened in there, but I know what you told me happened at the school, and I have gathered who _that_ is." He indicated Faith. "I will have to ask that you ensure she is confined to the hospital wing."

            "Ok." Buffy agreed. She saw the look that passed between him and Lupin, and knew that Faith was as good as under arrest. Now Lupin held out a book, and asked Buffy, Harry, Tonks, Faith, and the Sunnydale crew to hold on.

            Moments later they were back in Dumbledore's office. It was agreed that as Harry seemed fine he should return to Buffy's room to avoid other students for the time being... however, Harry, of course disagreed, and stubbornly refused to go anywhere but with Buffy. Tonks went to inform those who needed to know what was going on, and Buffy, flanked by the scoobies, lead Faith to the hospital wing. Just down the hall from Dumbledore's office, Faith pulled away from Buffy, insisting on standing alone, and no one said a word. Buffy walked beside her, and knew from Faith's pace and stance that she felt like a prisoner- and who could really blame her? 

            Faith sat on the bed while Madame Pomfrey bustled about. She said several times that she was just tired, but it changed nothing. Buffy and her friends sat or stood nearby, each of them wondering what exactly had happened in the last few days. Harry sat on the edge of another bed with a huge wedge of chocolate that had been forced on him by Pomfrey. As Madame Pomfrey began cleaning the blood from Faith's hand, Buffy suddenly said,

            "It's Voldemort's." 

            "Yeah." Faith confirmed quietly.

            "I get it now… or, well, no, I don't, but I get it more than I did."

            "I got a lot of explaining to do, huh?" Faith said without looking at them.

            "Er, ya could say." Willow snapped sarcastically.

There was a silence again, but before Madame Pomfrey was even finished, Dumbledore walked through the door.

            "Dumbledore." Buffy exclaimed, "What happened?"

            "He was gone. We got a few deatheaters, including the two unconscious just inside the door." He smiled at her oddly. "But Voldemort wasn't there. We have people searching the house more thoroughly for anything important."

            "Right." Buffy breathed.

             "Harry!" A voice cried form the doorway, and Hermione, Ron and the others rushed in. "You're ok!" Hermione squealed. The Gryffindors in the group froze on sight of Faith. "What is _she_ doing here?" Hermione asked coldly.

            "It's ok." Harry answered, "She didn't hurt me."

            "She kidnapped you with a knife to your throat." Hermione countered. Harry shrugged weakly,

            "She still didn't hurt me." 

            "I think." Dumbledore declared, "It is time that you told us what precisely is going on." He was looking at Faith, and she nodded nervously. "However, I am going to have to ask you to drink this." He held out a small vial of clear liquid which Harry recognised as veritaserum. Faith eyes flickered from the vial, to Dumbledore, and then to Buffy. 

            "It's a truth potion." Buffy said quietly. Faith just nodded. It looked as if she might have tried to say 'oh', but nothing came out. Buffy knew that the apparently fearless slayer was terrified. 

            "It will wear off in time." Dumbledore added, "But you will understand that it is necessary." Faith nodded again, and took the vial. Pulling out the stopper, she leant her head back, and upturned the vial over her mouth, making it clear that she wasn't trying anything- she drank it all. Faith grimaced slightly,

            "Ew."

            "Lets start at the beginning then… I suppose, Buffy, you should ask the questions, for I don't know enough to ask the right ones."

            "Ok. Right from the beginning?"

            "From… from whatever it was that made Faith go 'bad'." Dumbledore replied. Both slayers winced, knowing that a wealth of painful subjects would soon be voiced. 

            "Ok then." Buffy said quietly. "Faith…" Their eyes met. "Will you tell us about… about that night… with the deputy mayor?"

Faith nodded stiffly, and began. Soon they had covered up to when Buffy stabbed Faith in an attempt to save Angel's life. There wasn't a single person in the room who wasn't completely engrossed in the tale, as none had heard everything of each part. None at all had heard Faith's true side of the story- her pain, and her reasons for each act she committed. She had no choice but to tell them how scared she had been; of herself, and of what would happen if she gave herself up. Each killing had been a way to prove to herself that she didn't care, to dull the pain, and each one made it worse. 

            Buffy now skipped to when Faith awoke, and saw in Faith's eyes that she was aware Buffy was missing things out, proving to the blonde that Faith had shared her dreams.

            "What happened on…" Buffy looked to Willow,

            "Friday." Willow told her, "If you mean when Faith woke up? Early Friday morning."

            "What happened on Friday, when you woke up?" Buffy asked Faith.

            "The first thing I remember is his face." She said slowly. "He was leaning over the bed, smiling at me. Everything ached…

FRIDAY- Sunnydale Hospital 

FLASHBACK 

            "Faith? Can you hear me?" The snake like voice said. Faith squinted, her vision blurry,

            "Who…?" She murmured.

            "My name is Lord Voldemort. I have awoken you, and we must leave this place."

            "I don't…" Faith was groggy, and could barely understand his words.

            "This is taking too long." The voice snapped, "Get her up, we're leaving."

Two men in black cloaks hauled Faith out of the bed, and she felt something pressed into her hand. "Hold it." The voice ordered. Faith managed to wrapped her fingers round the object, and the most bizarre feeling gripped her, and nauseated her further. The next thing she knew, her feet were touching down on carpeted floor and she heard the cold voice ordering the men out of the room, even though the slayer was barely able to stand. Faith looked around groggily at the huge, warm room. Deep red furniture complimented dark woods and bare stone, and a huge fireplace dominated one wall. She felt her head swim in another wave of nausia…

            "Please, my dear, have a seat before you pass out." The man with the cold voice steered the slayer into an armchair, and she leant gratefully into it- she felt awful.

            "What's going on?" She managed to say.

            "I helped you to wake up, Faith. You have been asleep for several months." He replied.

            "I feel like shit."

            "Ah, yes, well that should wear off soon… the body must adapt to such a sudden change."

Faith was frowning, her mind running over vague memories of dreams, and before that… Buffy had stabbed her! She actually did it! Bravo Buffy… wonder where she is?

            "Faith?"

            "Wha? Yeah… I'm still with ya… wait… who are you again?"

            "My name is Lord Voldemort. I am a dark wizard- _the_ dark wizard if you will."

            "Cool. You do kids birthday parties too?"

He laughed, light and hollow.

            "Do not mock me, slayer. You can feel my power as I can feel yours."

            "All I'm feelin' right now is the need to hurl." Faith countered. The man made an impatient noise, and crossed to her, holding something strong beneath her nose. "Holy shit!" Faith cried, her eyes fully open in a second, her head clearing rapidly.

            "Better?"

            "Much… what the hell is that stuff?"

            "Powerful." Was his cryptic response. "Are you ready to listen?"

            "Depends what you gotta say."

            "Yes, yes…" He chuckled. The laugh gave Faith shivers right down her spine. "I awoke you from your frankly pointless slumber to give you the opportunity to join me."

            "Join you?" She repeated doubtfully, "And what would that entail?"

            "You would have more power than ever before. I could show you your _true_ strength, Slayer. That which they forced to hide within you could be unleashed."

Faith's eyebrows flickered,

            "And I would have to do what?"

            "Help me. With… problems." His evil smile told Faith what sort of 'problems' he meant.

            "Something tells me that you're happy sorting out 'problems' all by yourself." She said wryly.

            "Yes, yes, quite. However, there is one particular problem with which I need aid. A boy."

            "Boy as in kid?" She almost laughed.

            "This boy is more than just a kid!" Voldemort snapped angrily. "He too is a wizard, but that is of little consequence; many are, and many more powerful than him at that…"

            "Wizard? You mean, like a female witch?"

            "Of course."

            "Like Wicca? You're a wicca?" Faith snorted.

            "No, no, none of that nonsense." He scoffed, "We are true wizards and witches, those who possess the power within them, in their soul- not muggles who think they might dabble." He looked disgusted by the thought. Faith still looked clueless, so he explained about the wizarding world… and about how it was being corrupted by mudbloods. 

            "If you hate 'muggles' so much… why are you calling on me? I'm no witch."

            "On the contrary, my dear," Voldemort said, "You are a powerful witch- or could be, if you allow me to train you. The purest of blood flows in your veins. You are a distant relative of one of the strongest bloodlines ever- granted it has been… corrupted… recently but your father was of a pure and noble line."

            "My dad…" Faith murmured, "I never knew him… but my Mom… my mom wasn't a witch."

            "Not in the strictest sense, no. Your mother was a squib. She had pure blood, but somehow… I do not understand it, but she had no magic." Faith scrutinised the man's face, and caught what she was looking for- a hint of repulsion. He found squibs as vile as muggles, and she knew immediately that this was the reason she had never known her father. Maybe it had been a quick fling, and he had felt no reason to honour Faith's mother because she was a squib… or maybe Faith was being too harsh, and his family had stopped the relationship. Whichever version it was, it was because of her mother's lack of magic, she felt it.

            "Is my Dad alive?"

            "No."

            "Oh. Fine… then… this kid, what is it you want me to do? Why can't you deal with a kid yourself… why is a kid a threat to you?"

So he explained about Harry Potter.

            "And now… it seems there is a new player… a girl has appeared from nowhere. My sources say that she has been referred to as his sister, which is puzzling- I did not know that the Potter's had another child… but this is not the point. She is clearly protecting him… and I am sick of waiting. I want you to go in and get the boy for me. I know you will be able to handle whoever this hussy is… I should think it would be easy for you."

            "You want me to kidnap a kid."

            "Yes. Is that a problem?"

            "No… no, course not." Faith replied, "It's just, y'see V, I'm no lacky. I don't dig tunnels for you to walk under your problems. I'm not doin' nothing unless I _want_ to, and there's enough in it for me."

            "Understandable. You are a girl of principle." Voldemort said smirking. "If you return with the boy, I will give you a wand, and begin training you in the complex art of witchcraft."

            "Kinda like a loyalty test then?" Faith said thoughtfully.

            "Precisely my dear."

            "I'll need all the info you have on the place, and this girl protecting him… an' I'm not committing, understand?  When I know the catches, then I'll tell you my decision."

            "Very wise. Follow me."

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Hope you enjoyed it- please review!


	37. Why? part 2

Heya people! Thanks again for all the reviews! 

I'm glad you're all so intrigued about Faith's family… it shouldn't be a huge part of the story, but I plan to do _something_ with it- could be fun. *grins*

Dueling Destiny- Oops. Yeah, it should have been "Wizard? As in _male_ witch?" Not 'as in female witch'… sorry, me dumb.

OOOH! Shootingstar19 _actually_ updated! So all go read that, aswell as witchlight's stories- the alternate ending for Consequences is SOO incredible. :'(  AND go read Becks 89's stories too, cos they just generally rock my socks- please bug her to update 'the boy who lived' cos I love it!!! Pleeeeeeaaaaaaaassse, Becks!!!!

And back to _my_ story. Nice long chapter for you here- not much action I'm afraid, but some cuteness and lots of explainy. So here ya go…

Chapter 37- Why, part2 

Hogwarts-present time

            "So he just told you that right up front?" Xander asked, "Help me kidnap this boy an' I'll make you all powerful?"

            "Pretty much." Faith shrugged.

            "Then what? How did you know it was me?" Buffy asked.

            "The next day, one of his lackeys turned up with more info from his spies…"

FLASHBACK

            "Faith, good news." Voldemort declared. "We have more information on this pesky girl." He was looking at a pile of parchment, reading bits out to her. Faith screwed up her eyes for a moment and forced herself to concentrate. It seemed that there were side affects to being forcibly woken from a coma, in that all Faith wanted to do was sleep for another month. "Aha, we have a picture." Voldemort said.

            "That could be helpful, don't wanna go killin' the wrong girl now do I?" Faith murmured. Voldemort smiled, and past her the photograph. It was a view from a bit of a distance, which showed a group of people walking down a lawn, talking animatedly (and actually moving). Most of them were clearly school children, but with them was another girl in brightly coloured robes, talking to the black haired boy on her left that Faith already knew to be Harry Potter. Faith felt her breath catch as the blonde girl turned, her face looking out of the picture. _Buffy_.

            "I'll do it." Faith said suddenly.

            "You…?" 

            "I'll do it. I'll get the boy." She said confidently.

            "You do not wish to see the rest of the information?"

            "I said I'd do it, didn't I? So what are you arguing for?" She snapped. Voldemort frowned a moment, then chuckled,

            "Excellent, I am pleased."

Hogwarts, present

            "He didn't know who I was?" Buffy asked.

            "No."

            "And… you didn't tell him?" Willow added.

            "No." Faith replied.

            "Ok, ok.. so then we know what happened next." Buffy said, "You got a port key from Voldemort, and came here, took Harry…"

            "Wait." Hermione snapped, and they all looked at her. "If you were lying to Voldemort, and you didn't really intend to hurt Harry… what _were_ you doing?" She of course didn't know what Buffy and Harry had seen, no one else did; so while the question seemed incredibly tactless to the Potter siblings, everyone else looked to Faith, thinking it was a very good question. Under the affects of the Veritaserum, Faith had no choice but to answer.

            "I was trying to get at Buffy." She said quietly. "I wanted to piss her off as bad as possible, and  I know how protective she is of those she loves." Her hand trailed unconsciously to her stomach.

            "Huh?" Ron exclaimed, "You did all this just to piss Buffy off?"

            "Why?" Willow said in the same disbelieving tone. Faith swallowed, looking at Buffy as she spoke. 

            "Because I couldn't do it myself." She said, and dropped her gaze again- it was taking a lot to avoid the full truth while obeying the truth potion. 

            "You couldn't do _what_?" Giles asked. Buffy winced, she wished that they could understand from her expression, or her reluctance to say it, but Buffy knew that anyone who had met Faith would never guess this of her.

            "I couldn't kill myself." Faith said in little more than a whisper. "I knew that Buffy was one of the only people who could take me, and that she would only do it if she thought I had killed someone she loved… I've had experience in that, remember?"

No one said anything for a while, all suddenly realising how tactless the questions must have sounded. If there had been any doubt of the truthfulness of her answers, most would have thought she was just trying to get sympathy. But they had all seen her drink the potion- there was no way Faith was lying. Eventually Willow spoke up. She had seen (and personally experienced) the glee Faith had seemed to take in her actions, and she just had to ask,

            "_Why_ would you want that?" She gasped, "Why did you want to die?" Faith let out a hollow chuckle.

            "Because inside I'm already worse than dead." She replied. "You don't know what it's like- to see dead people in your mind everyday, to hear the voices of people _you_ killed in your head, over and over." She chuckled again, "And every time you try to make it go away, it gets worse, rotting you from inside out. No matter what comes after death… it can't be worse than this. I wanted it to stop."

            "Faith…" Buffy began.

            "Don't, B. I heard you before." Faith said, cutting her off. Their eyes met once again, and Buffy smiled sympathetically. 

            "So…" Dumbledore said, not wanting to sound harsh, but needing to know the rest of the tale. "What happened after you took Harry then?" He asked.

            "I took the port key back to the hideout, and Voldy took Harry." Faith replied quickly, just as eager to change topic. "He was scarily happy. He tied Harry up, and gave me a wand as he had promised… apparently it was my father's." She pulled the wand out of a trouser pocket, and handed it to Buffy. "It's made of ebony." She said, "And he told me that it contains the blood of a pure vampire."

            "A pure vampire?" Dumbledore and Giles both exclaimed. 

            "You mean a Turok'han?" Giles continued alone. Faith shrugged, shaking her head,

            "I dunno."

            "I didn't know they really existed." Giles said.

            "Apparently one of my ancestors was big with the pure demons. My family worshipped them, and eventually my great great grand-something-or-other managed to summon up and control a pure vampire… or he thought he could control it. It killed him and several others. Another ancestor killed it, but not before he took some blood, and made that." She nodded to the wand. "It's been passed down through generations, and now it's meant to be mine."

            "Wow." Ron murmured.

            "Creepy." Oz added.

            "Still." Dumbledore said, "It should be a very powerful substance."

            "Whatever." Faith shrugged, "Anyway, after he gave me that, he…" She glanced at Harry…

FLASHBACK

            Faith tucked the wand away, and looked down at the scared teenager. He saw no emotion in the slayer's eyes, as if there were shutters behind her pupils. She looked away again, to Voldemort.

            "What now?" She asked.

            "Now we deal with Harry Potter." Voldemort hissed. "You ensured that his sister could not follow?"

            "She wont be bothering us." Faith said with a nasty smile. Harry's forehead creased in a frown. She was clearly suggesting that she had killed, or at least incapacitated Buffy… but Harry knew she hadn't.

            "Excellent, excellent." Voldemort said. "Well then. Let us…"

            "Master! Master, please forgive my interruption, but the messenger has returned with much news." A death eater cowered in the doorway.

            "Bring him forth!" Voldemort snapped impatiently.

            "He is rather badly wounded, sire… our sources were… well…"

            "Yes yes." Voldemort said. "Very well, I shall come. Faith, why don't you… _amuse_ yourself with our guest?" His smile could have frozen flame as he passed Faith a long, slender, slightly curved knife. Harry's eyes widened considerably, and he wriggled, looking around in vain for help. Voldemort chuckled. "Have fun." He said, before leaving. 

            Faith crouched down beside the struggling boy, letting out a long breath. She cocked her head to one side, fingering the knife as she gazed at Harry.

            "So you're B's brother, huh?" She said. "Gotta say I really _don't_ see the resemblance." But she frowned as she looked into his terror-filled eyes, "Cept maybe in the eyes." She then added. She sighed, and her eyes dropped, starring at the ground, then back up at him, as if she couldn't think of anything to say. Harry's eyes kept track of the knife, presuming that she was considering where to start. Suddenly, Faith raised the knife, and he winced. Faith smirked at him, but just held the knife up, and examined the blade, "This is beautiful, ain't it?" She said more to herself than to Harry, "Damn sharp too." She ran a finger along the blade, and flinched, chuckling, "Damn sharp." She sucked her cut finger. Then she stood up, looking down at Harry at such an angle that her eyes looked jet-black. The knife was held in her fist, by her side, while she just starred at him. 

            "Faith!" Voldemort's angry voice came from the corridor. She didn't look up. "Faith!" He repeated, coming into the room. "I have just been informed that this girl is known by some as 'Buffy', and our demon sources tell us that the only 'Buffy' they know of is the _slayer_. So pray tell me, my dear, how you failed to mention that?" He was standing right behind her. 

            "Oops." Faith said, her eyes still locked with Harry's. "I guess the problem with me, Big-V, is I never was much of a team player." As she said it, she spun, her free left hand catching his wand even as he drew it, snapping it clean in half. The other hand, gripping the knife, followed through, embedding itself in the dark lord's side. Faith wrenched it back out, and slammed the hilt into Voldemort's shocked face. He fell unconscious on the floor. Faith looked down at him, and at the blood that was pooling around him and dripped from her hand. One glance back at Harry, and Faith dragged the evil wizard across the room, away from the boy. She then went to the grand curtains that flanked the windows, and ripped one down, tearing off strips of the thick red cloth with which to bind Voldemort. All this Harry watched with wide, bewildered eyes. Faith looked at the knife in her hand for a moment, before flinging it across the room where it clattered on the stone floor. Faith herself didn't know why, but she tucked the broken wand into her jacket pocket, before closing the door through which the deatheater had come to talk to Voldemort, and tying more of the curtain material around the handles. When her eyes returned to Harry, he was looking at her expectantly. Faith glanced back at Voldemort, seeing that to Harry it would look as if she was trying to help him, but she shook her head,

            "Sorry, kid, there's something that's gotta be done first." She ignored his yells, muffled by the gag, and left him alone in the room, closing the other door behind her.

Hogwarts-present

            "And the rest you know." Faith finished. Everyone looked to Buffy at this, and she sighed,

            "I got there… Faith told me she had killed Harry, and I believed her cos of the blood on her hand- Voldemort's blood. We fought, but…" She paused, "When it came to… to…_it_… I couldn't. I have to admit that I nearly did…" She looked at Faith, "But when you didn't try to stop me, I knew something was wrong."

            "And that's when you found Harry and saw Voldemort." Giles said. Buffy nodded. Both slayers we're praying no one would ask for details of the events directly after this, and thankfully they had all caught on well enough to say nothing.

            "Did Voldemort tell you anything else?" Dumbledore asked Faith instead. "Anything at all about his plans?"

            "Nothing more than I've said. He was still testing me. I got the feeling that he had just got some big info though… the state that the messenger was apparently in, and the info on Buffy suggests that their latest source was a demon… which doesn't seem good… this guy has a major grudge against any muggles or non-pureblood witches and wizards… and if he gets the support of demons and stuff like that… it's not gonna be an easy fight." Faith said.

            "And If Voldemort ever did manage to take control…" Giles said thoughtfully, "If Demons were in his inner circle… once they got control, the demons would betray him, it wouldn't take much for them to kill him and his inner circle…"

            "And then the world is an all you can eat demon buffet." Buffy finished.

            "Fun." Harry murmured.

            "So we stop it. Right?" Xander said excitedly, "Right? We _do_ stop it?"

            "Cos demons, and magic, and bad guys… not of the good." Willow added. Oz smiled and slipped an arm around her comfortingly.

            "We'll stop it." Buffy said, "It's what we do."

            "I'm afraid it is not quite that simple." A cold voice put in from the doorway. Snape stepped in, scowling as usual. "You see, Miss Potter, we have tried many a time to vanquish the dark lord, and it is no mean feat. You don't just decide to destroy him."

            "Buffy does." Faith mumbled. Buffy grinned at her, but then turned to Snape,

            "Why not?" She asked.

            "Why…? Because he is an incredible powerful wizard!" Snape exclaimed, "He has no qualms about killing innocents, and challenging him is _not_ child's play."

            "_Child's play?_" Buffy repeated in disbelief.

            "The slayer you may be, but an experienced warrior, knowledgeable about the dark arts you are not." Snape snapped. Everyone in the room was looking back and forth between them in eager anticipation.

            "You want experience?" Buffy replied, "I told you before, _Snapey_, I have experience- count the apocalypses! …or rather non-apocalypses."

            "Some demon trying to open a hellmouth with pitiful spells hardly counts as a great victory." Snape scoffed. Buffy raised her eyebrows, her expression clearly saying 'you think that's the extent of my _experience?_' but she actually said,

            "Try fighting hand to hand with the _guardians_ of the damned _hellmouth_! Or fighting hand to hand with a vampire so strong many other vamps call him master! Try getting an entire class of eighteen year olds to fight off an army of vampires and a giant bloody snake who happens to be the friggin mayor! You don't know me, Snape, don't tell me what I can and can't do." Buffy growled.

            "Woo!" Willow said quietly.

            "Go Buffy." Xander chanted in a whisper. The Hogwarts students were all grinning widely, and adults looking on with masked amusement. Snape's temple twitched as he shifted his gaze to Faith.

            "Is this not the murderer who kidnapped Potter?" He said coldly.

            "You missed story-time, Snape, so don't judge when you don't have a clue." Buffy said. Faith raised her eyebrows, not expecting Buffy to come to her defence.

            "She is still a filthy murderer." Snape snarled.

            "Preachin' to the choir here, vamp-boy." Faith said, raising her hands in surrender. 

            "What happened to second chances?" Buffy asked him. He didn't reply, glancing quickly at Dumbledore, who had the strangest expression on his face. Eventually Snape said,

            "So what will happen to her?" And no one could answer. Buffy locked eyes with Giles and indicated the door with her eyes. As Giles began to move, Buffy said,

            "Dumbledore, can we talk?" and followed him. Snape bought up the rear.

Outside the hospital wing, Buffy flung herself into Giles' arms, shocking him.

            "It's so good to see you." She said, not having had a chance to say it before. Giles chuckled,

            "You too, Buffy. This is quite a complicated world you have entered."

            "Oh you don't know the half of it." Buffy replied. She stood back, and took a deep breath.

            "So what does happen?" Giles said.

            "She should go to Azkaban…" Snape began.

            "Not happening." Buffy snapped.

            "Why not? She is a mass murderer."

            "One word- circumstances."

            "That is no excuse…"

            "Do desist." Dumbledore said tiredly. "Buffy, you must see Serverus' point- Faith has committed jail worthy crimes…"

            "Which she's sorry for!" Buffy interrupted. "Didn't you hear her back there? She hates herself for what she did, she wanted to die! She _begged_ me to kill her." All three men were a little taken aback, having not heard this part of the story in detail. "Locking Faith up would not help her in any way. It would only make her worse, you heard what she said it was like, like rotting away your very being… sticking Faith in jail will _kill_ her. Not to mention the fact that Voldemort would only have to go get her again, and he will be _pissed_ that she betrayed him."

            "We understand that, Buffy… but what other solution is there?" Giles asked. "I suppose we could contact the council…" 

            "Oh, yeah, cos their approach will be _so_ much better than prison." Buffy snapped sarcastically. "She needs _help_, Giles. Friends, a controlled but… nurturing environment. She can be a good person, Giles, I feel it." She looked around at them, even Snape not saying anything. Buffy turned to Dumbledore, "Harry told me how in to second chances you are- what makes Faith any different? What happened to her before… it wasn't her fault."

            "You still neglect the fact that she kidnapped your brother at knife point." Snape said. Buffy rolled her eyes,

            "It was a trick, dumbass!"

            "Buffy…" Giles scolded, but was ignored.

            "She only did it to get at me so I would _kill_ her, you can't just…"

            "Perhaps… perhaps there is a solution." Dumbledore said thoughtfully.

----------------

He he he.

Review please!


	38. Choices

19/4/04 

Heya people, thanx again for all the reviews! 

This chapter is again action-free, but hopefully quite sweet.

You should all go read Becks89, witchlight and shootingstar19 (who has actually updated!! Woohoo!) 's stories cos they're very cool!

So on with the story! –Enjoy!

Chapter 38- Choices 

"You _are_ kidding, right?" Faith said, almost laughing.

            "Nope."

            "You gotta be." Faith insisted.

            "Really not." Buffy replied grinning.

            "But… it's a school. With lots of kids. Vulnerable kids, and… magic… and dangerous stuff. And…"

            "I'm sure you'll survive." Buffy teased.

            "You know that's not what I meant. Dumbledore agreed to this?"

            "It was his idea." Buffy said, then added thoughtfully, "You're really 17? I really had no idea you were a whole year younger than me."

            "Hey, one year ain't that much." Faith said defensively, "And besides… in _some_ areas I'm way more mature than you."

            "Shut up." Buffy said, grimacing. "So are you in?"

            "Do I have a choice?"

            "You always have a choice, that's sorta the point." Buffy replied.

            "Oh Jesus, fine." Faith said, sounding like she thought she would regret it. "Fine, I'll go back to school. I'll enrol at Hogwarts."

---------

            "You will be staying in a private room, slightly away from the other students." Dumbledore explained. It was a little later, nearly morning now. The students had been sent to bed long ago, and Dumbledore and the two slayers were alone in the hospital wing. "This will allow you to easily move about to train and patrol with Buffy." 

            "And keep me away from the students." Faith murmured.

            "Yes." Dumbledore sighed, "You must understand…"

            "I understand." Faith said firmly.

            "If you are to stay here, you must stay within the guidelines set down." He continued, "You will not leave school grounds alone, preferably only with either a teacher or Buffy. You will attend some student lessons in which your lack of previous tutorage will not be a problem, and join Buffy for some private lesson with Professors too. Cutting class _will not_ be tolerated without due reason."

Faith nodded. "You are to act as any other member of this school. You will eat at your house table once you are sorted, you will use that house's common room, you will wear that house's uniform."

Faith's eyebrows flew up at 'uniform'. "_Yes_." Dumbledore said, "Uniform. You will not reveal yourself as a slayer, and shall not discuss your reasons for being here or the events of the last few days with _anyone_ who doesn't already know. Is this all clear?"

            "Yes." Faith croaked, "I understand." She was still in shock, amazed that Buffy would have made such an effort to convince Dumbledore and the others that she was worth this. 

            "For the time being Madame Pomfrey has insisted that you stay in the hospital wing for a few days. The sudden awakening from your coma has given your body quite a shock, as I'm sure you know. Madame Pomfrey says you should recover quickly, however, and when she is convinced of this, we shall go to my office directly, and you shall be sorted. We can go from there. I must stress that however clichéd it is, we _will_ be watching you, Faith." Dumbledore finished, and made for the door. Faith nodded again, and she and Buffy watched Dumbledore leave.

            "I need some sleep." Buffy said, "I'll come see you in the morning, ok?"

Faith nodded slowly, but as Buffy turned to leave, she suddenly grabbed Buffy's arm,

            "B." She said quietly.

            "Uh-huh?" Buffy replied. Faith shook her head forlornly, looking only down. "Faith what it is?"

            "I… I don't know if I can do this." She said.

            "What do you mean? You heard Dumbledore, it's sorted…"

            "No… I mean _me_. I… Buffy maybe it'd be better if I was in jail."

            "No way. I know you Faith, and I know that's not true. So do you." Buffy insisted.

            "Maybe you don't know me as well as you think!" Faith snapped. "I still feel… oh god, Buffy… what if I lose control? When I get angry, I think things… I can't help it, B, an' I don't know that I can keep it in!"

            "I _do._" Buffy cried. "I know you better than anyone, Faith, and you know it. I've seen you at your best and your worst. I've shared dreams with you, fought at your side and fought you myself. I've seen your soul, and when I look in your eyes, I know that you are a good person. I know you are strong, Faith. I know you can do this. I _wont_ give up on you, I swear. _Never._"

            Dumbledore stood outside the door, head inclined to hear the conversation. He felt a warmth flow inside him at Buffy's words, for he knew how righteous Buffy was. He knew how much she loved Harry, and the extent she would go to, to keep Harry safe. And yet she was willing to have Faith here, in the castle, around Harry, more- she was insisting upon it, encouraging the girl to stay. If Buffy had such belief in her, maybe Faith truly wasn't a lost cause. There were a few whispered words Dumbledore could not hear, and then silence. He hurried a little way along to corridor so that it wouldn't be obvious he had heard, and Buffy soon left, closing the door to the hospital wing quietly behind her.

            "You want me to put _that_ on my head?" Faith asked, several days later when Madame Pomfrey declared her fit.

            "Yes." Dumbledore said yet again. Faith grimaced, and Buffy grinned. "In joining the school you must be sorted." He said.

            "Buffy didn't."

            "I'm not a student." Buffy said in a sing-song voice.

            "Whatever." Faith said, "Let's just do this." She sat down, and Dumbledore placed the sorting hat on her head. It slipped down over Faith's eyes, but before she could complain, a little voice said,

            "Weeeell. A slayer?" It chuckled, "I was waiting for this."

            "Waiting for what?" Faith said out loud. Buffy glanced at Dumbledore, not having heard a thing, but Dumbledore nodded knowingly, so she said nothing.

            "Waiting for you… so complicated, so dark, so deep… and yet brave, loyal to those you truly trust. You are clever, cunning, strong… you _cannot_ be placed."

            "I… huh?"

            "You are a slayer. You possess qualities that would take you far in any of the four houses, but your soul is divided between all because you are the chosen of the people- _all_ people."

            "Still not getting you." Faith said.

            "Maybe I was a little off on the clever bit." The hat murmured dryly. "I cannot put you in one house or another. If you are to be put in a house, you must choose it yourself."

            "What? But that's not… you can't…"

            "That will be all."  The hat said with a very final tone. Faith pulled it off, looking irritated. Now Dumbledore too gave her an odd look.

            "Well?" Buffy asked.     

            "It said it couldn't decide." Faith said.

            "It couldn't decide?" Dumbledore repeated.

            "Nope. Said cos I was a slayer, I had the shit to go in any house, but that it couldn't place me cos the slayer is meant to represent all people. Total cop out if you ask me."

            "That's what it meant." Buffy said, smiling widely at Dumbledore. "In the song, that's what it meant."

            "Of course." Dumbledore agreed.

            "Huh? Song? Did I miss something?"

            "Every year the sorting hat sings a song at the sorting ceremony." Dumbledore explained. "And this year there was a line I didn't understand."

            "It was talking about how everyone gets sorted into their house." Buffy continued, "And then it said 'but now there's the two as well'. Which didn't seem to make any sense…"

            "But now you think it means us?" Faith finished. "The two. The slayers."

            "We can't be sorted." Buffy said, nodding.

            "Y'think?" Faith said with a wry smile, "Here, you try." She passed the hat to Buffy, who put it on, and waited. Suddenly, she wrenched it off, saying, 

            "Ok, ok ok!" Faith grinned. "It said I couldn't be sorted- was a little irritated it had to say it twice." Buffy said. Dumbledore smiled, and took the hat back, placing it on a shelf behind his desk.

            "Well, this _is_ a bizarre turn of events. You will have to choose your house, Faith." He said.

            "But I don't know anything about them." She replied.

            "Then tonight you may stay with Buffy if she does not object [Buffy shook her head fervently and smiled at Faith] and tomorrow, when you know more, you may choose."

            "Ok." Faith said.

            "Cool. Slumber party." Buffy joked. Faith smirked, then turned seriously to Dumbledore,

            "You find anything in the hide out?" She asked. Dumbledore sighed,

            "Very little. We have apprehended several more deatheaters, but there were no plans or documents, and Voldemort, as you know, was gone. However, from the look of it, you may have seriously wounded him, and hopefully that will slow him down somewhat."

            "Yeah. For roughly five seconds." Faith murmured.

            "We'll defeat him." Buffy said.

            "I don't know, B. He was… I know he's human, technically, but he's pure evil. Once you've looked in his eyes, you can't help wondering if maybe we'll never stop him."

Buffy winced at the all too familiar phrase. 

            "We will." She said. "We have to."

            "It is only a matter of time." Dumbledore agreed.

Faith sat in clean clothes on Buffy's couch. She had her legs pulled up under her, and watched with interest as Buffy produced two mugs of steaming hot chocolate from a drawer in the wardrobe. Buffy grinned, and passed her one, settling on the other sofa. Faith cupped her hands around the hot mug, and blew gently on the drink. Her mind was buzzing with all that had happened in the last few days. She wondered how Buffy had got into all this, where Harry had come from, where was Joyce? She was still a little blown over by the fact that she wasn't in jail or dead, and at least part of her found that she was glad about it. She was bursting to ask all sorts of questions that she had felt should be saved for a more private location than the hospital wing, but uncharacteristically held back, feeling that there were some very painful subjects underlying Buffy's recent past. Like Buffy herself had said, no matter what had passed between them, the two slayers knew each other better than anyone else did, even the scoobies, even Giles. Eventually, after the long silence, Buffy sighed and put down her mug,

            "What do you want to know?" She asked.

            "Huh?"

            "What do you want to know?" Buffy repeated. Faith chuckled, shaking her head and knowing she should have expected Buffy to get what she was thinking. Faith shrugged,

            "What happened." She replied. "I wanna know how all this happened." 

            "You mean Harry, Hogwarts, all that?" Buffy asked rhetorically. She sighed, "Well… to start with, I guess… I found out that Joyce wasn't really my mom."

            "What?" Faith exclaimed.

            "I know." Buffy chuckled, "Kinda my reaction too. Turns out my parents… Harry's parents, gave me up for adoption because they were seventeen when I was born, still at school- here, as a matter of fact. They had hidden the pregnancy from everyone, no one but my aunt even knew I existed."

            "How did you find out? Your mom tell you?" Faith asked, still amazed. Buffy dropped her gaze and took another sip of chocolate. Faith's eyes widened,

            "Oh god, Buffy… how?" She asked.

            "Cancer." Buffy managed to croak. "In her brain. By the time they worked out what it was it was too late." Her voice almost cracked, but she held it together.

            "Buffy… I'm so sorry." Faith gasped.

            "After the funeral, I went through some of her stuff, and I found the papers." Buffy continued as if she hadn't heard her. She had told this story so many times recently, and yet now, telling it to Faith, she was close to tears again. "I tracked down the adoption agency here in England, and they told me about Harry. It was from him I learned about all this." She motioned to the room, meaning the whole wizarding world. She was silent for a moment, but suddenly she gasped a sob, tears finally overflowing. In seconds Faith was at her side. She wrapped her arms around the other slayer, and held her tight. Buffy leant into the hug, and closed her eyes, letting herself cry, and thanking anyone and everyone listening for returning her sister to her.

---------

This chapter is dedicated to my younger sister, Alice, who would have been fifteen today. Unfortunately, she will never be returned to me.

Please review!


	39. Hogwarts

Heya guys. Thanks for all your reviews, and your condolences, you're all so sweet!! And don't worry (laura!) I really am fine about it, it _was_ 14 years ago. But still, thanks.

George queries- he'll be back soon, I promise! In fact there's reference in this chapter, and he'll be making an appearance very soon!

Zutzi alias Susi- As for Sirius, he'll be around some time, just he doesn't have much place in the school… but don't worry, I haven't forgotten our favourite animagus!

As usual, you must all go read the incredible literary stylings of witchlight, shooting star_19 and Becks89!!  Cos they are very very cool. (or even if you don't- which you should- bug them to update anyway, k?) ***grins***

Argh, only a few days of holiday left, and many many practice papers I haven't done… oh well, fanfic more important… no wait…. Aw crap.

So, on with the story… this has to be some sort of record, almost 40 chapters and only a week and a bit into the term. Doh! 

Chapter 39- Hogwarts

            It was past midday when Buffy awoke to knocking on her door. She stretched groggily, and looked around. Once again she had fallen asleep on the sofa, and Faith was still unconscious by her side. Buffy smiled, and it took her a moment to remember what had awoken her. 

            "Buffy?" Said a soft voice as the knocking started again. She looked up to the painting on her wall, and saw Fairfax looking down at her, "Your friends are outside, and your brother is the one trying to break the common room door down." Buffy chuckled and called out,

            "I'm coming, I'm coming!" The knocking ceased, and Buffy went to open the door. "Hey Harry." She said. Hermione Ron, Ginny and Neville were with him too, all looking very expectant. 

            "Are you ok?" Harry asked.

            "Fine, I was just up talking most of the night… what time is it?"

            "Lunch time." Harry said, "We just finished morning lessons."

            "Oh." Buffy replied, a little shocked, "Sorry… Come in." They did, but stopped when they saw Faith asleep on the sofa. Buffy said nothing, but closed the door, and shook the other slayer.

            "Wha? Huh? Get ofa m… Oh, B." Faith spluttered, "And the mini-scoobies."

While the Gryffindors gave her looks ranging from glares to cautious interest, Buffy said,

            "Hey, it's morning."

            "Afternoon, actually." Harry corrected.

            "Serious?" Faith said, stretching, "Who'd have thought you could be so damned tired after three months in a coma, huh?" Buffy smiled, and told Fairfax to let the scoobies in from outside.

            "Hey, Buff." Xander called happily, faltering a little at the sight of Faith. The others stopped behind him, and Faith found her gaze dropping to the floor.

            "I should go." She murmured.

            "Do be silly, where would you go?" Buffy replied. 

            "Anywhere but here." 

            "It's ok, Faith." Xander said, suddenly making up his mind and crossing the room, "Don't worry, I was just surprised is all, didn't know you were out of the hospital wing." Willow and the others followed suit, and everyone flopped on the sofas, or the floor in that area.

            "I love this room!" Willow squealed, as she had every time she'd been in it. "It's so cool!"

            "I know." Buffy grinned, "I couldn't believe it!"

            "Thing I don't get is where do you… y'know…" Willow said, glancing at the Gryffindors and mouthing 'training' behind her hand. Buffy laughed, and Hermione, guessing what was being said, said,

            "Buffy has a training room on the next floor."

            "Oh." Willow said, "They all know?"

            "Yup. Impossible to keep a secret around here." Buffy replied. 

            "So…" Xander said, "Erm, so, Faith, you're gonna join the school?"

            "Seems so." She answered.         

            "Cool. Learning magic an' stuff." He trailed off, and she just nodded.

            "Faith." Hermione suddenly said.

            "Ah, yeah?" 

            "You said that …Voldemort… said you came from a powerful pureblood family…  did he say which one?"

Faith was a little put out by the direct question from the teenager, but she nodded slowly,

            "Yeah." She replied, "He didn't say what family my Mom was from, but my Dad's name was Black."

The room fell silent. Even the scoobies had heard the name Black.

            "Black?" Harry eventually spluttered.

            "Yeah. So?" 

Harry looked at Buffy, and she shook her head- she hadn't known either.

"What?" Faith asked, "What's wrong with that?"

            "Nothing. Nothing's wrong with it…" Buffy began, "It's just… Sirius, Harry's godfather… our father's best friend, is a Black."

            "But it's a big family." Harry said quickly.

            "Very big."

            "Related to the Malfoys, actually…" Hermione added. At this Buffy cracked up.

            "Malfoy's? Who are the Malfoys?" Faith asked as all the Gryffindors grinned.

            "You'll see."

            And sure enough, a little while later when they were all making their way down to the great hall for lunch, Malfoy and his cronies crossed their path. The two groups stood opposite each other like opposing gangs. But both groups knew Malfoy would try nothing, as the odds were well over 3:1. He just looked the group over; he had noticed the scoobies before, but had not paid much attention, and made the mistake of including Faith in the Sunnydale group.

            "Potter." He said, greeting Buffy rather than anyone else.

            "Malfoy." Buffy replied.

            "I've been hearing some very interesting rumours about your brother." He said as if Harry wasn't right there beside her.

            "Really? Like what?"   

            "Like he got kidnapped by an agent of the dark lord."

            "Somehow I think it might have been exaggerated." Harry said sarcastically. Malfoy sneered at him.

            "Pity. I was getting excited." Malfoy replied dryly, and Crabbe and Goyle laughed. "Mark my words, _Potter_ [to Harry this time] you wont avoid him forever. He will defeat Dumbledore, and you, and all that oppose him will fall."

Buffy mock-shivered,

            "Oh, I'm scared now." She said, "Maybe we should all run away and hide?" She said to Faith. Faith smirked,

            "You don't have a clue, Kid." She told Malfoy. "Voldemort ain't no hero… an' you're just as scared of him as anyone else."

Malfoy looked Faith over and grimaced, 

            "You're the one with no idea. You don't know his power. He will strike each of you down and rule."

            "Hm, watch out for those lightening bolts, guys." Willow scoffed. The group continued, leaving Malfoy a little put out, and very annoyed.

            "So… what house is _he_ in?" Faith asked Buffy as they descended the stairs into the entrance hall.

            "Slytherin." Harry replied scornfully.

            "We don't like Slytherin?"

            "It's more that Slytherins don't like anyone else." Hermione explained. "Thereby they are horrid to us, and thus we don't like them."

            "Check out the mini-Willow." Faith murmured to Buffy, who chuckled. "Any specific reason that they don't like anyone?"

            "They hates muggles and muggle borns, and most of their parents are deatheaters. Voldemort was in Slytherin." Hermione answered.

            "Damn." Faith said. "Well, Malfoy didn't seem to mind B too much, did he?" She grinned, "I mean, for all the trying to be insulting, he didn't half look you up an' down a few times."

            "Shut up." Buffy said.

            "It's so true." Willow giggled.

            "You realise I'm never letting this drop, right?" Harry reminded Buffy. She elbowed him and pouted. Just behind her, as they crossed the entrance hall, Xander whispered to Willow,

            "Watch this." And he stepped hard on the edge of Buffy's robe.

            "AH! Bloody hell!" She cried as she stumbled. Xander burst out laughing and Oz grinned a little, while Willow gaped at her best friend for a moment, before cracking up. "Oh bugger off." Buffy murmured, which just made it worse.

            Buffy and the scooby gang spent the day with Faith, while Buffy showed her round the school. The rest had taken the grand tour already, but Giles was still commenting on the ancient mysteries the place held, Willow was still getting excited by the magic, Oz was just smiling at Will and Xander laughed every time Buffy said anything that sounded vaguely stereotypically English. Faith walked along side Buffy at the blonde's insistence, but she felt very out of place, and she knew for a fact that the group did not trust her. All but Buffy. How odd, she thought, that the one she had hurt the most was the one who was willing to give her another chance- more, to work with her, to help her, to be her friend. She got a little more interested when she saw the first year flying lesson in the quidditch stadium. Buffy noticed the spark in the slayer's eye at the thought of flying,

            "Maybe you should try out for the house team when you pick." Buffy suggested.

            "Uh-huh, put me on a flying stick and get me to lob balls at a bunch of kids. Wicked idea B." She replied sarcastically.

            "You'd be good." Xander said, "Slayer strength an' all, you'd do brilliantly!"

            "Yah, if we want a team load of concussions." She replied sceptically. Buffy laughed,

            "Don't be dumb, you know you're a wicked shot. You were always better with a bow than me."

            "Bow and ball, little different."

            "Whatever, I think you should try. I would if I could. Me Harry and Ginny whooped Ron and the twins."

            "The twins?" Faith repeated.

            "An' you can stop _that_ thought right there." Buffy ordered.

            "Oooh, yeah, you gotta tell us more about George!" Willow squealed.

            "George?" Faith grinned.

            "One of the twins." Buffy said.

            "Go B." Faith chuckled.

            "_One_ of the twins." Buffy said again, reproachfully.

            "So… kissiness?" Willow asked.

            "Definite kissiness." Buffy replied happily.

            "Whoa, hang on." Faith interrupted. "You stab me for lover-boy, and yet, what, three months later you've moved on an' the guy you tried to kill me for is history?"

            "Faith…" Buffy spluttered, "I… It's complicated…"

Faith smiled, shaking her head,

            "I get it B, Angel split… Just ironic is all."

            "I guess it kinda is." Buffy sighed.

            "In a really gross depressing way." Xander added.

            "Which is worryingly un-disturbing." Oz commented. They walked in silent thought for a moment, until Giles suddenly said,

            "I wonder if there is a librarian's position open… the archives here must be incredible, I…" The rest of the group rolled their eyes and walked quicker. "Where are you going?" Giles called, "Oi… it _must_ be amazing… wait!"

            "So… you picked?" Buffy asked that afternoon. Faith nodded slowly, biting her lip. She looked up at Dumbledore,

            "Slytherin." She said.

            "Syltherin?" Buffy repeated, "You're kidding, right? Faith, Slytherin is…"

            "I know, B. I know it's rep… an' I know what I'm doing."

            "You are certain?" Dumbledore asked. For some reason he didn't seemed as worried by her decision as Buffy.

            "I'm sure." Faith replied.

            "Very well. A room will be arranged, adjoined to the Slytherin common room as well as the corridor. It will be ready by this evening, and your uniform will be placed therein." He smiled wryly, "You will be expected to wear the uniform when you join your new housemates for dinner tonight."

            "Fun." Faith murmured.

            "In _my_ house, misbehaviour will not be tolerated." Snape wrapped out. "You are a student now, and you will comply by the rules or you will be expelled. Dumbledore may trust you, and I understand his wanting to offer you a second chance, but _I_ do not trust you, and I will know if you step out of line, _Black_." Faith resisted the urge to smack him down or insult him to within an inch of his dignity. She knew that however much of a dick the dude was, she had to be careful. She had to keep her temper in check, or he would have her on the first train to Azkaban. Buffy had tried to intervene, but Faith silenced her with a look. There was no point- it would merely make Snape hate Faith more. "Do I make myself clear?" He finished.

            "Crystal." Faith replied through gritted teeth.

            "I shall now show you to your room." He turned and swooped towards the door. Behind his back, Faith saluted,

            "Yes sir." She murmured to Buffy, who had a hard time holding back the giggles. They followed the potions teacher out of his office and down the hall to a large portrait of a tall dark haired witch with a tight, strict looking face, who looked down at them and raised an eyebrow.

            "This is my charge?" She asked Snape.

            "That she is." Snape replied. Then to Faith he said, "You will arrange a password with Madame Burness and tell no one."

            "Ok."

            "For now, Madame…"

            "Of course professor." The portrait said. She swung forward, and the trio entered.

            "Jeee-zus _Christ_!" Faith exclaimed. Snape frowned at her, but Buffy finally lost control of her laughter. The dark haired slayer wandered around the room, which was very similar to Buffy's but in deep green rather than red. The bed was bigger than any Faith had ever seen, let alone slept in, and when she saw the bathroom, Buffy thought she might faint. Coming back into the main room, she gaped at Snape, "Is this for real?" She cried.

            "Yes." Snape replied.

            "But it's _huge!_" She protested.

            "Yes." Snape repeated. 

            "An' it's… mine?"

            "Yes."

            "Sh…" She caught Snape's gaze, "…ugar." She finished, smiling hopefully. Snape rolled his eyes, and said,

            "You will sit at the Slytherin table in the great hall, and you will wear proper school uniform."

            "Yes sir." Faith replied. She was thankful that he missed the sarcasm. He just looked at her, nodded stiffly, and left. Buffy and Faith both cracked up, collapsing on the large sofas in hysterics.

----------

Oooh, preview for next chap cos its fun-

"Bad lesson?"

            "Psychic teacher."

            "Ah."

            "Yeah."

Ok, so maybe that doesn't count as a preview, hehe, still fun though.

Please review!!


	40. Lessons and uniform

Hey people!

Thanks for the reviews, I'm glad you're all interested by Faith's aims in becoming a Slytherin… they will be revealed soon enough!

As for her father… I'm not gonna say anything yet- it probably wont be that big a deal though.

As for George queries- soon, I promise!!

Tanydwr- Faith's age- it was never actually determined in the programme, and it sorta makes sense that she's a bit younger as she was called a few years after Buffy, but mainly it was that I wanted her to go to Hogwarts!- artistic license and all that.

All go read Becks 89, witchlight and shootingstar19's stories!! They're wicked! 

And, please go read the preview to my new story, cos I need help with some stuff (explained therein) and all your comments would be really appreciated!

Last thing- I have my AS exams in a few weeks, so I technically _should_ be much busier for a while, as I need to actually do some work for once! So please don't get angry if I don't update as often!

And _now_… 

Chapter 40- Lessons… and Uniform

            "I changed my mind!" Faith called, "I'll take jail, thanks."

            "Oh don't be silly, come out!" Buffy called back. She, Xander, and Willow were sitting on Faith's sofa, grinning broadly while Faith refused to budge from her bathroom, where she was trying on her uniform.

            "Never happening." Faith replied.

            "It can't be _that_ bad!" Willow said. Faith stuck her head round the door,

            "Yes it can." She said.

            "Come _on!_" Buffy cried, "You have to wear it, so just get it over with!" 

Faith disappeared again, and said,

            "Ok, ok, lemme just see what I can do."      

            "Don't piss Snape off." Buffy warned.

            "Chill, B, it'll be fine… ok…" She took a deep breath, and stepped out. She was dressed in the regulation grey skirt (only an inch or two shorter than most) the white shirt, un-tucked, with the top few buttons undone, and the green and silver tie done loosely so that the knot was level with the shirt opening. She wore black tights and high-heeled school shoes, and was scowling deeply. Buffy and Willow whooped and clapped, while Xander just gaped. "Like I said." Faith moaned, and ducked behind the door. Buffy leapt forward, dragging her back out,

            "It's fine." She insisted.

            "No, no, B, it's not. I mean, dressin' up is one thing, but wearing this seriously!?"

            "Ok, I _really_ don't want you to explain that sentence, but if you, maybe… do up one more shirt button, it'll be fine."

            "But…"

            "Faith, teenage boys and male teachers might get a little distracted if half your shirt is undone."

            "Fine." Faith said sulkily. She did as she was told, but still looked very unhappy.

            "She looks…" Willow said thoughtfully, "sweet."

            "Oh god." Faith exclaimed. Buffy laughed,

            "She means you just look younger… I still can't get over you being a whole year younger than us."

            "A year younger?" Xander repeated.

            "Yup. I'm seventeen." Faith said. 

            "That's how come she can join the school even though we graduated already." Buffy reminded Xander.

            "Oh. Yeah, of course." He said, looking worried.

            "Xand? What's wrong?" Willow asked.

            "Nothing. Nothing's wrong." The girls frowned at him, before turning their attention back to Faith's new uniform. 

            "You actually do it a lot of favours." Buffy commented.

            "Whatever." Faith shrugged, "Gimme that cloak, an' lets go eat, k?" Buffy laughed, and threw the cloak at her.

            The four entered the great hall just after dinner had started. Faith split from the group, and headed for the Slytherin table. As Buffy took her place, Harry, Ron and Hermione were frowning,

"Er, where's Faith going?" Hermione asked.

"To the Slytherin table." Buffy replied.

"Er, why?" Ron asked.

"She didn't…?" Harry gasped in disbelief.

"Yup." Buffy replied, "She chose Slytherin.

"Er, why?" Ron repeated.

"I thought you said she _wasn't_ evil." Hermione added.

"She's not. She said she knows what she's doing, and I believe her." Buffy shrugged.

"Maybe not evil, but she's definitely crazy." Harry decided. 

Faith was approaching the Slytherin table, part of her agreeing with Harry, and wishing the floor would open up and swallow her whole. She squashed into a space, and looked around at her new housemates, who were _all_ starring right back at her.

            "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Draco Malfoy snapped.

            "Snapey told me I had to sit with you lot at Dinner." Faith replied simply.

            "You're in Slytherin?" A girl said disgustedly. Faith narrowed her eyes at her, and nodded,

            "Yeah. You got a problem with that?" She said.

            "Yes." Someone else answered. "You turned up with perfect Potter's yank group. You don't belong here."

            "I could surprise ya." Faith murmured. "Look, joined the school, got sorted, in Slytherin. Pretty simple really." 

            "What year?" A seventh year boy asked with interest.

            "Seventh." She told him. 

            "Why are you only joining now then? You go to an American magical school?"

            "Nope. Only just found out I was a witch. I was bought up a muggle." The whole table went utterly silent; so silent that the rest of the hall turned to look. 

            "Muggle?" Someone spat eventually. "You grew up as a _muggle_?"

            "I knew it. You're a mud blood." Malfoy snarled. But before anyone else could comment, Faith said,

            "Actually, no. I'm not. I'm pure blood, sweetie, I just didn't know about it 'til recently. Apparently my Dad's surname was Black… which means I'm related to _you_, right?" Malfoy's jaw dropped, while Faith grinned widely.

            "You're… a _Black?_."

            "Wow. He's quick, isn't he?" She quipped.

            "Are you, like, Sirius Black's daughter or something?" a girl asked. Faith snorted a laugh,

            "No." She said, "I dunno who my dad was. But he's dead… or so I was told. It's a little flaky."

            "Well." Said the seventh year boy. "Welcome to Slytherin…?"

            "Faith."

            "Welcome to Slytherin, Faith Black."

            "First lesson." Faith said with a grimace the next morning, "You done lotsa this already?"

Buffy shook her head, 

            "Na, barely any at all. Tranfiguration is all a big blur to me- you'll be just fine."

            "Ah, Miss Potter, Miss Black." McGonogall greeted them, looking Faith over with an expression of less than pleasure. "Please come in." She pushed open her door and ushered them inside. 

An hour later the slayers emerged, and Faith groaned,

            "She hates me."

            "She doesn't hate you."

            "Ok, ok, fine, she's just on guard in case I try to kill anyone sometime soon." Faith snapped.

            "Faith… she's just…"

            "On guard?" Faith finished with a wry smile. Buffy sighed, but didn't object. "I dunno, B." Faith breathed, "They're never gonna accept me, y'know."

            "They will. They just need to get to know you."

            "Always the friggin' optimist- it gets a bit annoying." 

            "Oh well." Buffy grinned. "Where you off to now?"

Faith grimaced,

            "I got a divination lesson… you had that yet?"

Buffy snorted a laugh, 

            "Yup. Give Trelawny a chance, ok?"

            "That really doesn't sound promising."

            "Have fun." Buffy teased, heading in the opposite direction towards her room. Faith took a deep breath, hefted her shoulder bag, and set off, still trying to make her self believe she really was heading to an actual lesson dressed in a shirt and grey, pleated skirt.

            Faith climbed down the ladder as fast as she could, ignoring the cries from Trelawny behind her. No one had rattled Faith so much in a long time. Sure she had been warned about Trelawny's love for seeing death and pain… but it was a long time since Trelawny had looked into eyes quite like Faith's. The seventh year slayer half ran from the classroom, the teachers words still ringing in her ears,

            …_Death follows you like a shadow…_

She just kept moving, not caring where she was going,

            _…pain, such pain, inside and out…_

She heard her shoes on the stone floors, and her heartbeat loud in her ears,

            _…they will never leave you be, will they dear?_

She suddenly broke into the sunlight, finding herself in the courtyard outside, at the top of one of the many lawns surrounding Hogwarts. She ran down the grass, stopping only when she reached the lake, and dropped to the ground, leaning against a tree. Faith squeezed her eyes closed, breathing hard, and cursed herself for being so pathetic. She knew Dumbledore wouldn't be happy about her running out of her second lesson. What the hell was she doing here? Really? She pulled a handful of grass out of the ground and threw it angrily back down. _Stupid_. She cursed herself, _totally stupid. _

            Faith didn't know how long she'd just sat there, starring out at the water, but her train of thought was broken by soft footsteps coming down the lawn.

            "Hey school girl." Xander said, sitting down beside her.

            "Don't, Xander, just don't." She snapped. He frowned sideways at her,

            "I wasn't." He shook his head, "I didn't mean… are you ok?"

            "Five by five." She replied bitterly.

            "I'll take that as a 'no' then."

Faith closed her eyes briefly, breathing a short laugh.

            "Bad lesson?"

            "Psychic teacher."

            "Ah."

            "Yeah."

            "Not enjoying your first day back at school then?"

            "Xander! I…"

            "Sorry, sorry…" He sighed as she leant her head back against the tree.

            "Na." She murmured, "Dunno what I expected. I mean, honestly I shouldn't even be here. I should be in jail, or… Voldemort or not, I shouldn't be _here_."

            "Buffy would disagree."

            "Yeah, but y'know Buffy? Nice girl, not all that bright."

            "Hey, that's not fair, Faith. She just believes in you."

            "Yeah maybe she shouldn't." Faith murmured. Xander shook his head,  
            "What's with you?"

            "What's…?"

            "This isn't like you. Good or bad, you were always sure of yourself. None of this feeling sorry for your self crap. You set yourself on a path and you got the heck on with it!"

            "Yeah- and look what good _that_ did for me!"

            "So deal with it then!" Xander snapped, "I get that it was hard, I get that you're hurting… but it's not gonna stop unless you do something about it! Buffy's not just being dumb, Faith, she wants to help you. She believes in you, she believes you can make this work, an' for what it's worth… so do I."

            "I just keep hearing them." She whispered. "I see them every time I close my eyes…"

            "I know."

            "I don't think you can." She replied, "But… thanks."

            "No problem."

            "An' I'm sorry… y'know, about the whole trying to kill you thing." Faith shrugged. Xander laughed,

            "No problem."

Faith cracked a smile too, and then sighed,

            "I should probably get back before they send the guards after me." She said.

            "Lunch time anyway." Xander told her.

            "Really? Crap- I'm in trouble."

            "I'm sure you'll survive." He grinned, and they started back up the lawn to the school.

------

Sorry, not very long!

But I hope ya liked it, please review!!

-Sam


	41. Friends, fighting, and walking piles of ...

Hey guys! Thanks for all the reviews, I love to hear what you think! And I'm so sorry about the severe Faithifying of the story- it's a bad habit of mine that comes from being a slightly overly major faith fan… so sorry!! I'm trying to steer it back to Buffy and Harry, because ultimately the story is about them! So don't get annoyed with me, pwese? 

It was weird, but lots of people asked about spike after this chapter… not sure why you all think of it now, but still… I'm not sure yet, im afraid. I have some ideas for Spike, but I don't know for sure how they'll fit in yet (I know this is the 41st chapter, I'm sorry!! Bad author, need to get on and make something actually _happen!_) So, yeah… not sure about Spikey.

George, I say again, he's coming soon… _real_ soon. *grins*

Ooh! And the quote, two of you mentioned that- I forgot to say last chapter that Yes, the line Faith says at the end 'You know Buffy? Nice girl, not that bright.' Is nicked right out of the script of 'Chosen' (willow to Kennedy) sorry about that, it just seemed to fit!

Ah, all the business finished, on with the story… (oh, and look what the first word is… sorry!!)

Chapter 41- Friends, fighting and walking piles of books 

            "Faith!" Buffy called as they entered the great hall, "Where were you? Dumbledore just told me you ran out of your lesson…" She frowned, "But he didn't actually seem all that concerned…"

            "Sorry, B. I'm sorry." Faith replied.

            "What happened?"

            "Exactly what you said would happen… she just freaked me out is all. Tell Dumble-D I promise not to leg it out of any more lessons as long as the teachers stay outta my head."

Buffy smiled,

            "Sure thing."

Faith nodded, then gestured towards the Slytherin table,

            "Food." She said by way of explanation, and joined her housemates.

            "You guys talk?" Buffy asked Xander.

            "Yeah, a little."

            "And…?"

            "I dunno… she's finding it hard."

            "Well I know _that_."

            "It's like… she doesn't think she deserves this, so it pisses her off that we're trying to be nice."

Buffy chuckled,

            "You got _that_ right. But she'll deal- she'll be ok."

            "Do we know why she picked Slytherin yet?"

            "Nope- but I got some ideas." They sat together at the Gryffindor table, waiting for the others to arrive. "How is Will doing about all this?"

            "She's way excited about the magic- she's spending pretty much every free moment she has with some professor or other, trying to figure out if she could do wand magic wandless."

Buffy chuckled again,

            "That's not what I meant."

            "I know… She's still shaky on the whole 'Faith's not evil' thing. I think it could take a while for her to trust Faith again."

Buffy groaned,

            "An' she was never big on Faith before all the…" Buffy shook her head, "Never mind… she'll deal too."

            "That's your new philosophy, huh?"

            "Pretty much." Buffy shrugged, "I had to."

            "I know."

Buffy forced a smile for her friend, and nodded to the door, where the Gryffindor crew were entering.

            "Hey Harry." She called.

            "Heya. Is it true, what I heard about Faith and Trelawny?"

            "In _this_ school? Doubtful." She replied.

            "Apparently Trelawny did her regular game of predicting death and misfortune and Faith freaked out." Hermione said as they sat down.

            "Oh… well, yeah, that's sorta true. Only…"

            "Faith has had more than her fair share of death and misfortune?" Harry finished.

            "Bingo."

            "So she didn't lay Trelawny out then?" Ron asked, disappointed.

            "What? No, she didn't." Buffy snapped. Ron looked crest fallen.

            "Oh grow up Ron." Hermione scolded. Buffy grinned. 

            "Heya." Said a walking pile of books. Xander looked petrified.

            "Willow?" Buffy asked.

            "Uh-huh?" She replied, putting the books down on the table next to Ron, who scooted up the bench away from them.

            "What's with the book fest!?"

            "I just wanna learn as much as I can about all this while I'm here- it's really fascinating, and…"

            "And you sound like Giles."

            "Can I put these somewhere?" Asked another pile of books that sounded a lot like Oz. Hermione made room, and Oz breathed heavily out,

            "Damn they're heavy."

            "Oz?" Xander asked worriedly.

            "They're mine too." Willow explained. "What? I wanna learn!"

Ron and Xander shivered simultaneously, while Harry and Buffy shared a withering look. 

            "Here." Hermione said. She leant over and tapped the piles of books with her wand, murmuring something. Willow just looked at her, clueless. "Feather-light charm." She explained, shrugging, "It's what I do." Willow gaped at her a moment longer, before picking up a few books and dropping them again in shock,

            "That's incredible…" She gasped, "That's… I could carry _hundreds!_"

            "Great, well done 'Mione. You encouraged her." Buffy said with a grin. They all laughed, and both Willow and Hermione blushed brightly. 

            Over on the Slytherin table, Faith heard the burst of laughter, and stopped herself from turning to see what had caused it.

            "Feeling lonely?" Asked the boy beside her- the same seventh year who had 'formally' welcomed her to Slytherin.

            "I'm just fine thanks." She replied coldly.

            "Cos you don't need to, y'know? You're Slytherin now, you're one of us."

She turned to look at him. He wasn't all that bad looking; he had deep midnight blue eyes, smoky black hair, and a thin face with very defined features. But if there was one word Faith could use to describe his expression, it was slimy. She forced a smile,

            "Thanks." She said. Behind him a girl Faith was pretty sure was called Flynn made a puking face, and then grinned at Faith. Faith cracked a real smile, and the guy managed to think it was for him.

            "I'm Donovan, Donovan Fulk." He said, holding out a hand. Faith tried to keep a straight face as she shook his hand, saying,

            "An' you already know my name."

He smiled with satisfaction, while Faith considered removing the smile from his face with her fist. Only a few minutes later, he had to rush off for some reason or other, Faith wasn't really listening, and she was left next to Flynn, who smiled.

            "Amity." She said, imitating Donovan's voice, "Amity Flynn." Her hair was red, but nothing like the Weasleys'. It was a deep, dark red, and her eyes were an odd, rich green, which contrasted hugely.

            "Faith." Faith replied.

            "Black- I know."

            "Who doesn't." Faith murmured.

            "You're a big mystery, an' Hogwarts loves a mystery." Amity explained. She paused, just looking sideways at Faith as she ate. "Wishing the sorting hat had said something else?" She asked. Faith looked up to her,

            "Why d'you ask? Are you?" She replied. Amity forced a chuckled,

            "No. Na… Slytherin is fun. You just gotta deal with the rep."

            "That shouldn't be a problem." Faith said under her breath. Amity looked at her oddly,

            "What _is_ the deal with you then? Where'd you come from all of a sudden?"

            "We'll get along a whole load better if you don't ask that."

Amity was silent for a moment, her eyebrows slightly raised, but then she smiled,

            "You coming to Potions this afternoon then?" She asked. Faith smiled wryly,

            "Yeah. Snapey- _that_ should be fun." 

It wasn't. Faith trudged back to her room alone, and slumped on the end of the bed, totally exhausted. There was a knock on the common room door, and Faith dug her nails into the bed sheets. She gritted her teeth, and stood up, crossing to the door, and opening it to see Amity leaning against the doorframe.

"What?" Faith asked shortly.

"Can I come in?"

Faith looked at her for a moment, sizing up what this girl wanted from her, what her agendas were, what she was really like. Then Faith smiled, and stepped aside,

            "Sure, why not?"

Buffy sat by her window, looking out across the Hogwarts grounds. So much had happened recently. So many awful things, but so many great things too. She had a feeling of dread within her, battling with the feelings of joy that she felt at finding Harry, meeting George, getting Faith back. Buffy sighed and decided to turn in and have an early night.

It was Sunday again. Faith and the scoobies had been at Hogwarts a full week now, and everyone seemed to be getting used to it. The Sunnydale crew knew they would have to leave at some stage, but were trying hard not to mention it, as each had found their own interests within Hogwarts.

Today Buffy had asked Faith to come along to the sixth years' defence class, and the scoobies also decided to come watch. They were all chatting when Harry and his group burst in, wide, matching grins on Ron and Harry's faces.

"Guess what?" Harry asked Buffy.

"He was picked!" Ron said happily.

"For…?" Buffy asked.

"Quidditch captain!" Ron cried. Harry frowned at him,

"Ron has yet to learn the meaning of the word 'guess'." He said.

"But that's brilliant!" Buffy exclaimed.

"I know." Harry grinned, "Ron got vice."

"Yeah." Ron said proudly, "In case Harry gets his block knocked off."

"Nice." Hermione commented.

"So when are you holding try outs?" Buffy asked them. They looked at each other and said,

"Erm… er… ah…"

"We're working on that." Harry covered, "Not totally sure yet."

"Right." Buffy said, grinning. Then she nudged Faith, "So you trying out for Slytherin then?"

"Harry, be worried." Faith said, "You sister is way keen for me to lob balls at you."

"Ah, I'm used to it." Harry replied offhandly, "You should go for it- it'd be nice to see some actual _skill_ on the Slytherin team instead of just cheating."

"Yeah, it'll make our victory that bit better." Ron said. Buffy saw the tweak in Faith's expression, and her grin widened.

"Y'know what?" Faith said, "I will try out. We'll see about that victory."

"Don't bother, Black. With Potter as captain they might as well just give us the cup." Malfoy said from the doorway. 

"Yeah." Said Hermione, getting everyone's attention, "So that you can kiss it goodbye, cos you're never gonna see it again."

Buffy felt sure that had Malfoy had any demon blood, he would have growled just then. More students were flowing in, and Buffy was actually glad that the confrontation was unintentionally broken up. Much as she would have liked to watch Hermione drill Malfoy into the ground, she felt that having curses (actual curses) flying around probably wouldn't be a good idea.

            "Ok, settle, people." Buffy called out. "Alright. Second lesson… last week we learnt what?"

            "That if you don't have a weapon, you can't be disarmed." Someone called out.

            "Right. What else?"

            "You can't fight by set rules- it doesn't work that way."

            "Yeah, any more?" Buffy asked. The scoobies sat to the side and listened and watched as Buffy continued, each of them thinking something along the same lines- this was by no means a classic defence class. Buffy was not coming from the same angle as most teachers… but also that perhaps this way would be a whole lot more efficient. This knowledge, instead of coming from someone else who had been told how you _should_ fight, someone who was taught a set of manoeuvres, and how to apply them, this was coming from someone who was thrust into a situation against her will, and had to figure out what to do. Of course she had a watcher there to train her, but right from the beginning, Buffy, like all slayers, had to be right in there, _in_ the actual fight, fighting for her life day in, day out. Her way of fighting came from knowing what it felt like to _be_ in a situation where there appeared to be no way out. She had experienced the reality of it, not the textbook answer. And everyone watching, from Giles through to Faith, could see that the students were grasping it faster than any other way of teaching. It wasn't based on theory, but feeling, senses, and it felt _right_. 

            At the end of the class, the students left, again eagerly talking, and Buffy told the scoobies she'd see them in a minute or two when she'd cleared up a bit. They all left, but Faith hung back. When Buffy realised, she cocked her head to one side,

            "What's up?"

            "You're good." She replied.

            "Huh?"

            "At teaching them… you're good."

            "Well duh." Buffy said sarcastically.

            "I mean it B. What you tell them… it makes sense, an' if it came down to a fight, I reckon those guys would actual be more prepared after two sessions with you than a year of karate or something like that."

Buffy snorted a laugh,

            "Yeah right."

            "I'm serious."

            "I'm just bumbling along…making it up as I go…"

            "Exactly." Faith said grinning.

            "Whatever." Buffy shrugged, looking around the room. "There. Shall we? I think Xander might eat someone if he doesn't get his dinner soon."

Faith laughed,

            "Still just a teenage boy, huh?"

            "Always will be." Buffy replied.

            "Ah, we just cant help ourselves." Said a familiar voice from just outside the door. Faith saw the excitement blossom on Buffy's face as they watched the doorway, and two people walked through. 

            "George!" Buffy cried. She rushed forwards, flinging her arms around one boy and kissing him passionately while Faith stood there wondering how the hell she knew which was which. When the pair came apart, his eyes asked the same. Buffy grinned, and touched his nose, "You have a freckle, right there, and there, and there." She said playfully, "Fred doesn't."

            "How close were you lookin', B?" Faith teased. Buffy rolled her eyes, and kissed George's nose where she had pointed, 

            "I just know you." She whispered.

Now Faith rolled her eyes in perfect synchronicity with Fred, who then asked,

            "Who's your friend?"

            "Oh." Buffy turned from George, just holding his hand, and said, "This is Faith. Faith, Fred and George."

            "Faith… isn't that…" Fred looked at George. "Dad told us some stuff, and…"

            "Yeah." Faith murmured, "Look, B, I'll see ya later, ok?" She walked past them, but Buffy stopped her,

            "Faith. Stop. Guys, Faith is a good guy now. She went through some stuff… but when it comes down to it, she saved Harry's life. And… she's my friend."

The twins looked at the brunette slayer for a moment, and George cracked a smile,

            "Good enough for me." He declared.

            "Yeah." Fred agreed, "An' if she goes all evil, we can take her." He added.

            "Of course." George said, "No trouble."

The slayers grinned at each other, and the four of them headed towards the guest rooms where the scoobies were staying.

            "So…" Buffy said, "What are you guys doing here?"

            "Official order business." Fred said, puffing out his chest.

            "Top secret. Sorry, can't tell you." George agreed.

            "Yep, pain of death an' all- if we told you…"

            "We _would_ then have to kill you." George said, shaking his head sadly.

            "So you're here about the Zonkos deal then?" Buffy said, un-phased.

            "Yeah." They replied simply, and George slung his arm around her shoulders.

---------

Happy now?? *grins*

Sorry for the lame ass title, I couldn't think of one.

Please review!

-Sam


	42. Boys

Heya guys, glad you found that chapter funny, and yey Fred and George. Much fun.

Frankie- My name has an 'e', not an 'i', I forgot to say on the coach. And as for the death threats- you kill me, you get no more story at all, so :P And beside- its only been five days!

Laura- Yey, new characters, which yes, you helped to name- I'm so hopeless at thinking up names!

Tanydwr- I read your story, and reviewed- very cool!

I'm not saying anything about who Faith will get with, if she eventually gets with _anybody_. Too much fun to give such things away.

And as for how much longer there is to go, I haven't a clue- the story isn't finished yet, but im gonna try to speed up the timeline, or it'll never end!! Argh. 

Everyone go read Becks89's stories (its her birthday!!) and also witchlight and shootingstar19's too, cos they are very very cool!! Witchlights Tru calling cross- very groovy idea, I'm working on something similar which your gonna have to wait for… if you even want it that is, of course.

Again can I say that I have exams real soon, (first one is two weeks today!! Maths!! AHHH!) so I'm sorry if I don't update as often, but it's not my fault!!

Sooo, on we go,

Chapter 42-Boys

"Ok, so _then_ he says, 'you know, the stars are beautiful from the north tower' and gives me this, like, puppy dog look, an' it takes all I got not to crack up right there. I say, 'I've never been one for astronomy.' And the look on his face… god it was priceless… if you hadn't walked in a moment later, I dunno what I might have done!" Faith and Amity laughed as they walked towards the dungeons. Amity shook her head,

"Could his ego get any larger? I swear that boy wont fit through doors if his head swells any more."

"Tell me about it. If he tries it on again… I dunno, Ami, I'm gonna have to be a bit more clear."

"Need to think up some nice insults?" Amity said with a nasty grin. Faith returned it,

"No need, I got an experience tested store of 'em right here." She tapped her temple. "Believe me. He bugs me once more, an' he'll know he's buggin' me."

Amity laughed again as they entered the Potions room. The two Slytherins sat together at the back, and continued their conversation in whispers as the rest of the filed in. Some of the Gryffindor girls cast dirty looks their way, and strangely Faith felt warmth… if only because she knew that the looks were because she was a Slytherin, not because of _her_. Two of the girls sat across the aisle from them, and one of them looked across at Faith with disgust. Faith smiled a very disturbing smile at her, and the girl looked away again, swallowing quickly. Faith held back laughter, and smiled genuinely now, turning back just as Snape entered, followed by Buffy. Snape pointed to the back of the , and the blonde slayer nodded. She walked to the back, and pulled up a chair at the spare desk on the other side of Amity. Faith looked a question at her, and Buffy grinned,

"Sitting in." She whispered. "He wont admit it out loud, but I think I'm actually good at this!"

"Miss Summers." Snape snapped, "If you are to sit in on my lesson, please refrained from distracting one of our most disruptive members."

"Uh!" Faith gasped quietly, opening her mouth to retort. Amity placed a hand on her arm and raised her eyebrows at her- Faith's retort was exactly what Snape wanted. Faith pouted angrily, and said nothing. Buffy rolled her eyes knowingly, and Faith nodded.

At the end of the lesson, Snape swooped out, and Faith cried,

"Urgh! I hate him!"

"Don't we all, sugar." Amity replied. 

"No!" Faith said, "They don't." She gestured to the rest of the Slytherins.

"That's cos he acts like mother earth crawled out of their butts." Amity replied sweetly, "Don't let him get to you."

"He does _not_ get to me." Faith snapped, throwing her books into her bag. 

"Uh-huh." Buffy chuckled, "Course not."

"I _told_ you me an' school was a _bad bad_ idea." She said. Then she looked between her old friend, and her new friend, and noticed the awkwardness. "Oh… Buffy, this is Amity Flynn, Ami, this is Buffy Su… Potter." 

Amity frowned a little,

"Didn't Dumbledore say you were called Anne?" She asked.

"Long story." Buffy sighed, "In short though- Buffy is what my adoptive parents called me. Its what I'm used to."

"So… rumour has it you grew up as a muggle too."

"Yup." Buffy replied shortly.

"B… Ami's ok. She's not a Slytherin spy or somethin'." Faith said as they left the room. Buffy looked embarrassed,

"I know… I'm sorry… I guess it's cos of Harry going on about Slytherins… I'm sorry. It's nice to meet you." She stuck out a hand, which Amity happily shook,

"Don't worry about it, I've got used to it after six years. I'm a Slytherin, therefore I'm evil." She said, shrugging.

"If you don't mind me asking…" Buffy ventured, "Your parents…"

"I never knew my parents." Amity cut her off. "Don't know who they were. They died when I was very young… weird story actually."

Both slayers sensed that this wasn't the time to ask for elaboration. The trio emerged into the entrance hall, and headed for the great hall for lunch. 

"I hate this eating all split up thing." Buffy declared.

"Yeah- bit anti-social, isn't it?" Amity agreed.

"Oh well. I'll see ya later, B." Faith raised her hand in a short wave as she and Amity headed for the Slytherin table. 

"Ooh, goodies." Buffy said as she approached the Gryffindor table and caught sight of George. She sat down beside him, and grinned. He kissed her softly in welcome, and she grinned wider. 

"Bloody hell." Ron exclaimed, "It's like they're surgically attached at the mouth."

"Oh gross." Ginny exclaimed, "Thanks for _that_ visual."

"That reminds me." Fred said, "Where's Dean Thomas?"

"Fred, don't." Ginny pleaded. 

"I'm not going to do anything bad- just my brotherly duty."

"An' I'll help." George added.

"You guys, please…" Ginny begged, but just then Dean entered, and headed straight for her, only to be intercepted by the twins, while Ginny hit her head on the table in despair.

"Hey, Deano." Fred said.

"How ya doing?" George added.

"Er…um… ok…" Dean spluttered nervously.

"Good, good… we hear you're dating Ginny."

"Our little sister."

"Erm… yeah…"

"Right, right, well, see, we just wanted to tell you that you have our blessing."

"You seem ok. But…"

"If you ever hurt our little sister…"

"Physically, psychologically, magically, or in any other way…"

"We will personally…"

"Along with anyone else who wants to join in…"

"Humiliated you…"

"Then do everything in our power to make you wish you were dead…"

"And then grant your wish."

"Ok?"

"O…O…Ok." Dean managed. 

"Good good." George said jovially and patted him on the arm, a little harder than necessary. Dean sat very stiffly down next to Ginny, who was still repeatedly bashing her head on the table.

"OTT much?" Buffy laughed.

"Just wanted to make our position clear." Fred said.

"Uh-huh, well you did- in the way that means Ginny's boy is now gonna be terrified to even _move_ around Ginny, let alone anything else!"

"Er… that's the point…" George said.

"George!" Buffy said, frustrated. "Ugh, boys are impossible."

"Even I didn't react like that!" Ron said proudly.

"Ginny, stop hitting your head." Hermione pleaded, trying to force her head up.

"Trying… to eliminate… from memory…" She sighed, and sat up, frowning, "Nope, didn't work."

"It's just for your own good, Gin." Fred said.

"You're both assholes." Ginny replied with a smile.

"Gin…"

"In fact, I may have to get very kinky with Dean to make up for it." She added. At this, Dean looked positively petrified. Ginny rolled her eyes, "I was joking. For Merlin's sake."

"Don't sweat it, Gin. Men have the minds of peas." Buffy said.

"But peas don't have…" Ron said slowly. "…Oh." 

That evening, there was a large group of girls gathered in Buffy's room. There seemed to have been an anti-boy movement that afternoon, fuelled by Ginny's fury. Buffy, Faith, Amity, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, and Willow were sitting around on the sofas, the bed and the floor, discussing, mainly, boys.

"I mean, of course I'm grateful that they care- but Dean is such a damned wimp he wouldn't even kiss me this afternoon!" Ginny was saying.

"It was a pretty major over reaction." Hermione agreed.

"They were just joking." Buffy put in, "I think they were just joking…"

"But that's the thing!" Ginny exclaimed, "All they ever do is joke!"

"George doesn't." Buffy murmured with a faint grin. They all looked at her, and Faith chuckled,

"I gotta say he looked damned disappointed when you said you were doing this girls only thing." She said. "He is a cuty though, B."

"Don't I know it." Buffy grinned.

"Just remember not to eat anything he offers you." Ginny said scornfully.

"Already got that one pencilled in." Buffy replied.

"Er, why?" Faith asked.

"Him and Fred are in the joke business." Buffy explained.

"So eating anything from them gives risk of turning into a giant canary." Willow giggled, "As Xander found out."

"Xander turned into a giant bird?" Faith snorted.

"Momentarily." Buffy shrugged.

"Well _that_ shoulda been amusing."

"They can do worse than that." Ginny assured them. "It was great last year, they produced 'skiving snackboxes'… instant nosebleeds, puking… it was brilliant, gross, but brilliant."

"Umbridge went mad." Luna commented from inside a book.

"Umbridge _was_ mad." Amity corrected.

"I thought you Slytherins like her?" Hermione said stiffly. Amity raised an eyebrow,

"Some Slytherins liked her, cos their parents are death eaters and they hate Dumbledore." She said, "But plenty of us know, even if not all of them admit it, that we would _all_ be screwed without Dumbledore."

"Buffy would be screwed too if she hadn't insisted on a girls night in." Faith murmured.

"Faith!" Buffy cried, going very red.

"Oh you know it's true!"

"Shut up." Buffy said. The younger girls were giggling, Hermione very bright red. "Shut up!" She repeated.

"Oh chill it, B." Faith grinned, slinging an arm around her shoulders. Buffy chuckled, and elbowed her gently.

"Anyone want a drink?" She then said, detaching herself from Faith and heading to her wardrobe. 

"What you got?" Willow asked.

"Anything you want." Buffy replied.

"Something very strong!" Faith said.

"I'm not sure that it extends to alcohol, Faith." Buffy shook her head. "Hot chocolate all around?" She opened the drawer, and grinned happily at the seven mugs of steaming chocolate. She passed them round,

"Nifty." Willow declared.

"How come we don't get something like this?" Hermione exclaimed. "How perfect would it be in the common room?"

"In the common room you got Ronnikins to keep you warm." Faith teased.

"God!" Buffy laughed, "A week of feeling sorry for yourself and you're back to your one track minded self."

"Better than the off the track Faith." Willow commented. Faith wondered if she should be hurt, but shrugged,

"Too true." She agreed. Meanwhile, Hermione was now so red that she looked as if she might pop.

"Hermione, are you _still_ in denial?" Buffy scolded.

"Don't know what you're talking about." She snapped.

"Ok." Buffy declared, "Hands up who reckons it is absolutely essential that Hermione and Ron are together by the end of the week?" 

Every person in the room raised a hand, even Ginny, who grinned mischievously. 

"But… but I…" Hermione spluttered.

"Have been totally head over heels for him since, oh, about… second year?" Ginny finished.

"I have _not!_" Hermione cried.

"Denial ain't just a river in Egypt." Faith told her.

"I don't like him that way! And even if I did… which I _don't_, he doesn't like me like that either."

"No, course not." Ginny scoffed, "He just went into a strop for the entire time you were with Krum, and suddenly couldn't stand Krum even though he was his favourite quidditch player."

"He didn't like it because Krum was against Harry in the tournament!"

"Yet it was ok for him to ask Fleur Delacour?" Ginny asked. "'Mione, I'm his sister, trust me."

"Told ya." Buffy sang.

"This is Weasley we're talking about, right?" Amity clarified.

"Yup."

"Oh he's totally into you." Amity then said.

"What?" How would you…?"

"What, you think I'm blind? Any one who sees the look on his face each time you pass him should know. He totally adores you."

"Really?" Hermione asked, her voice much higher pitched than she intended, and an involuntary smile creeping onto her face. The others laughed,

"So, you don't like him at all then?" Buffy teased. "Girls- we need a plan."

The boys were sitting together in the Gryffindor common room, feeling a little dejected. Even Giles sat with them, and had ceased to comment on the miracles of the Hogwarts library. 

"Maybe we were a _little_ hard on Dean." George said thoughtfully.

"He's dating our little sister!" Fred countered, "And he's a year older than her."

"A years not that much!" Xander snapped. "A year is perfectly reasonable."

"Ok…" Fred raised his eyebrows, "Whoa, ok."

"Yeah, I'm a year older than Willow." Oz added. Xander frowned at him, and nodded slowly,

"Ok, I never actually thought about that. I mean, I know you didn't graduate, and then you did with us… but that never meant you were older before." Xander said.

"You're intellect never ceases to amaze me." Giles commented dryly.

"I'm worried." Ron said suddenly.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Why? _Why_? Because a large group of girls just got angry with us and barricaded themselves in a girls only meeting… its reason to be worried."

"They weren't _angry_." George said, not sounding all that sure. "Were they? I mean, annoyed, but… Buffy didn't seem _angry…_ did she?"

---------

Hehehe…

Review please!!


	43. The Labinnac Plant

Hey guys, sorry this has taken a little longer, thanks for being patient! I had my first exam today! Physics practical… y'know that feeling when everyone else got a totally different result? Not good. Oh well.

Silver Warrior- Whoa, long review. Yes! The relative I asked about all that time ago was Faith! I had it in my head for sooo long, and couldn't write it til I got there or it wouldn't fit properly… so yey, now its done.

Musicgirl141- OTT means 'over the top'

Chaotic reign- You don't like Faith!? Like at all? Or just in my story? Harry isn't with anyone yet.

All go read witchlight, shootingstar19 and Becks89's stories cos they are so so cool.

I actually wrote two completely different versions of this chapter- I'm talking _completely_ different, and some of you know how much I was fiddling with this to get it just right, so thanks to you guys for your help. Yes Laura, its time for number 2!!

grinsI hope you all enjoy this-

            Chapter 43-Labinnac Plant

Ron sat alone trying desperately to do a Herbology essay. Harry had been doing a potions' one beside him, but had gone to the bathroom quite a while ago… it only now occurred to Ron that he seemed to have run away. He looked around, and smiled as he saw that Harry was returning… though he was walking weirdly, and looked very nervous.

            "Where the hell did you go?" Ron asked.

            "Loo." Harry replied, his voice higher than usual. Ron frowned at him, and Harry coughed, "Loo." He said lower. Ron raised his eyebrows, but shook his head and turned back to the essay.

            "What do you call that thing… y'know, the plant that eats it's babies?" Ron said, to himself more than Harry, as his best friend no longer did Herbology. Harry frowned, and then, as if translating from Ron language, said,

            "You mean the Labinnac plant?"

Ron's head snapped up,

            "That's the one- how the hell did you know that? We only did it last week."

Harry looked uncomfortable,

            "Er… Mione mentioned it sometime."

Ron sighed,

            "That girl reads too much."

            "She just wants to learnt stuff outside of the measly syllabus!" Harry snapped.

            "Whoa, ok…" Ron said, looking at Harry like he was mad, "Are you feeling ok?"

            "Yeah, I'm fine." Harry replied shortly. He sat there for a bit, his knees right together, hands in his lap while Ron worked. Eventually Ron looked up at him, and looked him over,

            "You _sure_ you're ok?" He asked, eyeing his perfect posture. Harry looked shocked, and casually slouched back in the seat, legs splayed, one arm across the back on the sofa,

            "Fine." He repeated.

            "I swear you're losing it." Ron murmured. He went back to the essay, but minutes later he threw down his quill and said, "Screw this. I can't be bothered. Talk about something completely un-herbology related." He ordered Harry.

            "Erm… ok… girls?" He ventured. Ron's eyes widened,

            "This is what all this is about!" He declared, "Do you like someone?"

            "What!?" Harry exclaimed.

            "You're acting all weird- you got a brand new crush? Faith! I bet it's Faith, isn't it?"

Harry cracked up, and Ron just frowned as he laughed… again it was much higher pitched than usual.

            "No…" Harry gasped, "No, no… no crush. _Definitely _not on Faith."

            "So what then?"

            "Nothing's wrong." Harry insisted. "What about you though? You got you're eye on someone?"

            "No." Ron said dejectedly. "You know I don't."

            "No one at all? There has to be someone you like?"

            "Well of course there's people I _like_… but not like that… not that any of them would want me even if I did."

            "Sure they would. You're tall, not bad looking, you're on the quidditch team, everyone knows you're real brave from all the times you've been commended in assemblies…"

Ron laughed hollowly,

            "Yeah, right _after_ your name, and Hermione's, and last year how many was it?"

            "Ron…"

            "I'm a nobody. Even my closest friends barely see me." Ron moaned.

            "That's not true." Harry snapped.

            "I didn't mean you." Ron said quietly before he could stop himself. Harry gaped at him,

            "You mean… you mean Hermione?"

            "No, course not…" Ron said far too quickly, "I didn't… I don't…"

            "You really do…" Harry said incredulously.

            "No!" Ron said, "No… Harry…" He sighed, "Please don't tell her… I'll never live it down."

            "Why do you think she wouldn't be happy?" Harry asked earnestly.

            "Because it's me!" Ron replied, "Stupid Ron. She corrects me all the time, yells at me. She would never see me that way." He was ranting a little now, his pent up feeling just flowing out. "She didn't even get it when she was with Krum… I know I was childish, but I just… she was _our_ friend, all that time, y'know? And I never really thought about it, until I heard she was going with someone else… and I felt…" He sighed, as if he knew it sounded dumb, "I felt hollow inside."

            A tear rolled down Harry's cheek, and he wiped it quickly away.

            "If…" He began, but faltered. He swallowed, and tried again, "If you really like her… why don't you give it a go? Let her know how you feel?"

            "No way." Ron said, "I'd never be able to look her in the eye again… I'm sorry, I sound like such a pratt."

            "No, Ron, seriously!" Harry said, sounding a little desperate, "For all you know she might feel the same way, as if you don't like her, so she doesn't make a move either."

Ron smiled sadly,

            "But I know it's not like that." He said.

            "Ron…"

            "I'll see you at dinner."

            "Ron!" Harry cried. Ron ignored him, leaving through the portrait hole without looking back. "Ron…" Harry repeated quietly. He turned, and went to Buffy's door, entering without knocking, and closing it quickly behind him as he choked up sobs, and tears broke loose.

            The waiting group were shocked. Willow murmured the counter-spell to her glamour, and as the teen before them leant against the wall, it was Hermione -not Harry- who slid down into a crouched position, hands to her mouth as she cried. Buffy rushed to her- interesting results they had all expected… _this_ they had not. Harry was watching agape- no matter how many times it happened, watching your self walk around, whether on the side of the lake, or in and out of Buffy's room, was still very odd.

            "Hermione?" Buffy whispered, "Are you ok? What happened?"

            "So… stupid!" Hermione sobbed.

            "What?" Ginny asked, frowning, and coming to crouch beside her friend.

            "So… how could I… I be… so stupid!?"

            "You're not stupid, Mione!" Ginny said, "Why would you say that?"

Hermione raised her head, looking to Buffy with tear filled eyes and red cheeks,

            "You were right." She said bitterly. "He likes me. And I've spent the last few years treating him as if… as if I didn't care at all. He thinks I think he's stupid, that he's sort of… second rate… He thinks I don't like him at all. I'm such a bitch."

            "Whoa, whoa… No." Harry said, joining them, while the rest of the group still just watched. "Hermione… don't be dumb… neither of you knew… _I_ didn't know… and I'm meant to be both of your best friend…"

            "But how could I let him think that of himself? He thinks he's a no body. To me… to everyone! And it's my fault!"

            "Hermione…"

            "It's true!" She snapped.

            "Then there's only one thing to do." Amity suddenly said. Faith, Buffy and Willow all nodded,

            "Show him that he's somebody." Buffy said. Hermione just looked at her, then shook her head,

            "No… he'll know I tricked him… he'll hate me…"

            "No he won't." Faith said, then grinned, "Not if you do it right."

Hermione managed to choke a laugh at that.

            "You know now that he likes you." Buffy said, "For certain- that he likes you _a lot_. So you have nothing to lose- if you don't go for it, then nothing will _ever_ happen… so go for it."

Hermione looked around at the group of girls (except Harry of course), some of whom she barely knew, and some that until now she hadn't been sure she trusted… and she smiled.

            "Ron!" Hermione cried. He was just at the top of the last flight of marble stairs that lead to the entrance hall, and Hermione had never run so fast in her life. "Ron!" She said again. He stopped, and turned to look up at her as she rushed down the stairs towards him.

            "Hermione." He said, "What's up?"

            "I…" She gasped, a little out of breath, "I…" He was frowning. Hermione looked up at him (he was quite a bit taller than her) and opened her mouth to try again, "I needed to say… I wanted to tell you… I… I have to… oh screw it." She stepped closer, grabbing the front of his robes with one hand to pull him down a little, and kissed him. Ron pulled back in shock, his eyes wide, and Hermione smiled, a trace of tears still in her eyes.

            "Mione…" Ron said in barely more than a whisper.

            "Don't." She replied, and kissed him again. This time, he kissed back, wrapping his arms around her as she flung her own around his neck, and each indulged in that which they had dreamt of secretly for so long.

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Tiny weeny short chapter, I know, but it needed to be on its own.

Cookie for anyone who understands the name of my wonderful made up plant 'Labinnac'!

Please review!!


	44. The Face You Show Me

Heya guys, sorry it's been a while again, I haven't had much writing time. Argh Maths AS on Monday!!

I'm glad so many of you got my little Plant thing. Labinnac is in fact 'Cannibal' backwards (the plant eats its young). So cookies all around (Yes, MissKitty85, they're double choc-chip) Wow… just realised that promises of cookies seem to reel in humongous amounts of reviews. Crikey, you guys really like cookies, huh?

Matt- Thanks! And I'm trying with Child of the Key, I really am, I promise.

ChocolateKitten- Amity probably is getting crap for hanging with Gryffindors, you're right, but frankly, she's not the kind of person to give a damn.

Chaotic reign- shock horror How can you not like Faith?? Shes so cool! (apart from the killing people bit of course) Ugh. Well, as long as you like her in my story, I may forgive you…

Nicki- Heya!

You should all go read Becks 89, witchlight and shootingstar19's stories cos they're cool! Ooh, Becks, Hope D of E is goin ok. I do realise that your actually probably in a tent in the middle of nowhere right now… Teehee, fun.

Ok, I'm done. This chapter is a little bit bitty, jumping around quite a bit, but hopefully it works anyway. It's like midnight, so please excuse any tipos I missed in editing.

Chapter 44-The face you show me 

            "So… should I be scared?"

            "What?" Buffy laughed.

            "Y'know, you lot having that secret meeting- pretty worrying." George explained. Buffy laughed,

            "Na… it was mainly about Herm' an' Ron. How cute are those two?"

George chuckled,

            "It's just good to see him with someone finally! And someone he likes, a good person."

            "You act like such a tough guy, but really you're just a big softy, aren't you?" Buffy teased, kissing him. George hugged her close to him, and she giggled, before relaxing against him, where she stayed in silence for several minutes.

            "So how's stuff going then?" George asked.

            "Good." Buffy replied, as she snuggled closer to him, "It's great here… Harry seems a lot happier than he was at first, and now Ron and Hermione are together…"

            "I meant with you." He said.

            "I know." Buffy sighed. "Stuff is good." She said. "This place _is_ incredible. I'm learning a lot, and the defence sessions are brilliant."

            "Yeah, I hear you're a hit." George grinned.

            "You know it." Buffy chuckled. She gazed out over the dark school grounds, and breathed deep of the cool night air. They were sitting on the top of the highest tower in the school, and it was completely silent but for the rustle of the forest trees, and the occasional hoot of an owl. Buffy sighed again, "It's so gorgeous up here."

            "Hm, peaceful." He agreed.

            "Romantic." Buffy said, grinning and looking up at him. George chuckled, and kissed her softly. "You guys sticking around for a while?" Buffy asked.

            "Long as I can." He promised. Buffy smiled, and leant her head on his chest once more,

            "Good good." She murmured.

-------

            "Hey Harry!" Seamus called from across the common room as he came over.

            "What's up?" Harry replied.

            "We were wondering if…" He glanced around and lowered his voice, "Is the DA gonna start again? Y'know, seeing as Dumbledore lifted the ban on clubs?"

Harry raised his eyebrows, feeling flattered that it was wanted. He looked to Ron and Hermione, who were sitting very close together nearby. They were both grinning, and nodded fervently.

            "Yeah." Harry said, "Yeah I guess so… I'll have to talk to McGonogall, but yeah."

            "Wicked!" Seamus exclaimed, "We've all been watching our galleons for an update, but when it didn't come…"

            "We've been sorta busy." Hermione said.

            "Yeah, yeah, I know." Seamus said, grinning happily, "With …Anne… is it? And Fred and George visiting… But I'll tell people to expect news soon?"

            "Yeah. Definitely." Harry said. Seamus nodded, and walked away again. Ron socked Harry on the arm,

            "How cool is that! Well done mate- they want you back."

            "And we wont have to be as secretive anymore." Hermione said.

            "Whoa…" Harry interrupted, "I don't need this going properly public- there are plenty of people in this school who I couldn't take knowing that I'm trying to _teach_."

            "We can keep the group small- still use the coins." Hermione suggested.

            "Yeah." Harry agreed, "I think some people would just think I was super arrogant if they heard about this."      

            "What do you meant they'd _think_ it?" Ron joked. Harry swiped at his friend, but Ron ducked, laughing, "Only kidding, mate."

            "Should we go talk to McGonogall then?" Hermione asked.

            "Probably should wait until tomorrow, it's a bit late now."

            "I suppose." She said.

            "Chess, Harry?" Ron offered.

            "Definitely- I'm gonna beat you one of these days."

            "Yeah, when Snape wears a bright pink Tutu." Ron laughed.

--------

            Faith sat in the Slytherin common room, her feet up on the chair as she read through her potions textbook. The place was close to empty as it approached midnight, and she was grateful for the quiet for once. Suddenly she found her concentration cut, and kept very still as she tried to figure what had drawn her attention. She smiled.

            "Can't sleep?" She asked without moving the book down from in front of her eyes.

            "How did you know I was hear?" Draco Malfoy asked, slumping into a chair.

            "Keen senses." Faith replied, closing the book.

            "Whatever." Malfoy scoffed.

            "Your flunkies sleepin'?" Faith asked. Malfoy raised his eyebrows.

            "Yes." He said. "They have to be recharged every 16 hours or they just go flat on you."

Faith grinned- a joke, from Draco Malfoy.

            "Can't ever imagine either of _them_ goin' flat." Faith countered, and Malfoy smirked, clearly trying not to laugh. "What's your deal?" She asked after a moment's silence.

            "My…?"

            "You act like the king of the school, and yet I've seen you many a time sitting all alone in a corner."

            "Sometimes you get better conversation from your own mind than other people." He replied cynically.

            "Well that's depressing."

            "Its true." He snapped.

Faith shrugged with an odd smile,

            "Didn't say it wasn't." She said.

Draco was starring at her with a deep frown on his face. Faith cocked her head to one side, "What?" She asked.

            "You're not like the others."

            "The others?"

            "The Potters and that American lot- you're different."

            "Really? How?" Faith asked, genuinely interested.

Draco starred at her more, as if trying to work out what it was.

            "You're… darker." He decided.

            "Excuse me?"

            "You have more pain in your eyes… and, and… I get the feeling that the face you show isn't your real one." He said. Faith raised her eyebrows- this kid was way more perceptive than he seemed.

            "Right back at ya." She said, shocking him.

            "What do you mean?" He said accusingly.

            "You know what I mean." She said simply. Draco narrowed his eyes at her and scowled. Faith chuckled, "Don't give me that look, kid. I know a bad guy when I meet one, an' you ain't."

            "Don't be so sure." Draco drawled.

            "But I am." She replied.

            "Why?" He shot back.

            "Cos I see it in every move you make. I hear it in every word you say… you're playing the part everyone expects of you, totally blind to the path it's leading you down."

            "The way I am is nothing to do with you." He said stiffly, "And the path its taking me down is that which I am destined for, that which my family…"

            "Yah, your family, your destiny, your reputation… what about you?"

            "I don't understand."

            "Yes you do." Faith replied. "You spend all your time dissin' B, and Harry, and that lot, saying how much you hate muggle borns an' all that… but what if it came down to someone telling you, out right, to kill, say… Ginny Weasley. Would you do it?"

            "Depends who asked." Draco spat.

            "Really." Faith said- not as a question.

            "Yes." He said, clearly irritated.

            "So if Voldemort [Draco shuddered] was to give you a direct order to kill her, you would?"

            "She's a muggle-lover, she deserves it." Draco said.

            "You don't believe that." Faith said, shaking her head.

            "That's the thing." Draco chuckled, "I _do_."

            "You're a liar." She replied.

            "You know what!?" Draco snapped angrily, "You don't know me. Stop sticking your nose into other peoples business. I don't care if you're in Slytherin- I know you're just trying to spy on us for that blonde hussy!" He strode towards her, leaning one hand on either side of her chair arms, and growled, "Don't get in my way, Black. Don't make the mistake of thinking that your being related to me will change a thing- cross the dark lord, and you will die- very painfully."

            "Nothing you or your moron master can do would hurt me, Malfoy." Faith said back, her voice calm, but barely more than a harsh whisper, "You don't know what pain is. You don't have the slightest clue of the meaning of suffering, and you don't know the first thing about _me_- so I'd be a little more careful about who I threatened if I were you." She gripped his wrist with her hand, squeezing until he was forced to let go of the chair arm. She pushed him away, and walked to her room without another word. Draco Malfoy watched her go, holding his wrist, wincing- that girl had some grip.

-------------

            George reassured his twin brother that all was fine, and that the girls weren't going to do anything to them. Fred sighed with relief, and passed on the message to the others. That evening, the boys were once again sitting around, but in Buffy's room this time, with the girls.

            When Willow began offering around a bag of sweet, they thought nothing of it… and not one noticed that the girls didn't take any.

They all chatted as usual, the mix of different houses, years, and nationalities coming together to form a large, but increasingly close knit group. At eleven, the students said good night, Buffy hugged Harry, and even Amity and Faith left for the Slytherin dorms. Buffy and Faith shared a moment of eye contact before she left- another thing no one else saw.

"I should probably turn in." Buffy said a little while later. "I'm tired… and I have classes tomorrow."

"Yeah." Willow said, "We'll see you tomorrow, Buffy."

"Night Buff." Xander said.

"Sleep well." Giles added.

Oz raised his hand in a silent wave.

"Night." Buffy said. When her friends had gone, Buffy grabbed her coat, filled pockets with stakes, checked from her wand in it's almost permanent position of stuck through her hair, and snuck quietly from the room.

When she reached the entrance hall, Buffy looked around, but could see no one.

            "I was wondering when you'd show." Said a voice from the shadows, startling Buffy. Faith grinned as she stepped into the light.

            "Was that really necessary?" Buffy asked.

            "Absolutely." Faith replied, grinning. Buffy shook her head, and they walked together out of the front doors. "So where are we headed?" Faith asked as Buffy passed her a stake.

            "I thought Hogsmeade- the forest is freaky."

            "Freaky?" Faith said witheringly.

            "Freaky." Buffy repeated, "Centaurs an' stuff- tell you weird things."

            "Like?"

Buffy looked sideways at the other slayer, thinking of what she had been told what seemed like so long ago but was really only a matter of weeks ago.

            "Like… 'you will fight your own' and 'triumph wont solve anything.'" She said. Faith frowned, before looking at Buffy oddly. Buffy nodded, "That night I had a dream, about, well… at least in part, about you."

Faith was silent as they continued down the path towards the gates. Just after they passed out of the Hogwarts grounds, she suddenly grinned,

            "So did they notice anything?" She asked.

            "Huh? Oh! The boys? Na." Buffy grinned.

            "I can't _wait_ for tomorrow morning."

            "Should be brilliant." Buffy agreed, "Harry's gonna kill me."

            "You're worried about Harry? Hello, B, you're _dating_ George!"

Buffy laughed,

            "I know! They're gonna be so mad."

            "Or proud." Faith commented thoughtfully.

            "True. Proud is a possibility… which is worrying." She grinned, "He asked me if he should worry, and I convinced him we weren't gonna do anything."

            "Clearly doesn't know you well enough then." Faith scoffed. "Should be priceless."

            "Hermione is borrowing a camera off some kid in the year below. They'll never forget tomorrow."

            "And therefore never forget that men are misogynist bastards who wont get away with trying to rule our lives." Faith said very seriously.

            "Yup." Buffy agreed, and they strolled into town.

-------------

Hope you liked.

Cookie for… argh, can't think of anything to give cookies for, so just review! Please?

-Sam


	45. A bit of Sweetness

Hey people, sorry its been so long!! Revision, organising a surprise party, and then I was in Cornwall with my grandma for 4 days, argh, so sorry.

Duelling Destiny- Yeah, Buffy has some classes in the teachers spare time, and she sits in on some classes.

SPASH Panther- Argh, I don't know how long this is gonna be, sorry. I know its getting a bit crazy… I just finished chapter 49, and its still nowhere even close. I hope to speed up the time line a little soon.

Angel of Slytherin- I definitely like you. Few more reviews like that and I'll be spewing chapters daily. Lol. Thanks, very flattering.

Matt- Lol. What else can I say?

Go read Becks89, witchlight and shootingstar19's stories, cos they are very very cool, and be nice to them all, cos they have exams too! The moment you lot boycott AS's, witchlight, shootingstar and I will be able to update a whole lot more!!

This isn't a very long chapter, but hopefully it's content will make up for that as it should be quite fun. I wasn't entirely sure about it, but Becks89 insisted that it worked, _and_ that it was funny, so if you're disappointed, you can blame her. grins

Chapter 45- A bit of Sweetness 

Harry woke up slowly, yawning loudly. Ron just nodded to him as they both started getting dressed. The other boys were gone already, so they had the room to themselves as they traipsed to and from the bathroom, to tired to even speak. In his sleepy state, it took Harry several minutes to notice the strangely rhythmic way each of them was trudging. He shrugged off the feeling, and finished dressing.

Down in the common room, Buffy, Willow, and the Gryffindor girls were waiting for the boys. Each was eagerly anticipating the boys' appearance. Suddenly Harry and Ron leapt dramatically down the stairs, both looking completely terrified.

"What the hell is going on!?" Ron sang in a deep, operatic voice as he did some sort of odd steps across the room.

"My legs aren't doing what I tell them!" Harry added, to a rumbling rhythm.

"You!" Ron cried as the girls rolled about in fits of giggles. "You did this to us!"

"You cursed us somehow!

Made us sing,

Made us dance,

And prance and spin!" Harry sang. Buffy could barely breath for laughing. The few other people left in the common room were just starring, wide eyed and mouthed at the two sixth years.

"Stop it please,

I'm begging you,

I'll do anything,

I'll scrub your loo…" Ron cried, twirling dramatically and falling to his knees. Suddenly there was a bang as the twins and the scooby guys crashed through the portrait hole, looking desperate, and each cringing when they realised they'd come through in formation. They looked like they might cry when their feet started beating out a rhythm all on their own.

"Something's happening to all of us." Giles began

"It's very creepy, it couldn't get worse." Xander continued.

"We are all singing, we don't know why!" Fred cried.

"Please stop us dancing- you have to _try!_" George added. Harry and Ron were now clicking their fingers too. Buffy's door swung open, and Amity, Luna and Faith, who Buffy had told her password, rushed in grinning.

"Why did you do this?"

"What did we do?"

"Sure we yelled at Dean,"

"But that was for you!"

"Please lift this curse,"

"Or we'll come after yoooouuuuu!" Ron sang this last line, and the girls all looked sceptical.

"Threats are _not_ gonna help." Buffy said.

"And you'd have to do better than that anyway." Hermione agreed.

"Buffy!" George sang softly,

"My light, my world,

I didn't mean to upset you,

I give you my word!

Just lift this damn thing,

So I'll no longer sing,

I will do any-thing

Oh Buffy!"

Buffy snorted a laugh.

"Her-mi-one please!

Grant me pity my sweetest one,

Let me prove my stupidity is gone.

Give me just a chance,

I will not let you down,

Please free me from this insanity,

And let me be a man!" Ron begged. They were now reluctantly moving into a group dance, arms flailing, toes pointing, and faces a picture of more distress than any had faced against deatheaters, vampires, Slytherins or Umbridge.

"You reckon we can leave it 'til lunch time?" Buffy wondered loudly.

"Oh I think so." Hermione smiled.

"At least." Ginny agreed.

"Please no!" Harry wailed,

"Please let us go!" The twins sang in unison.

"We'll do anything for you!" Xander said.

"Anything?" Faith asked, grinning.

"Anything!" Oz belted out, his voice much stronger than anyone expected. "I don't even have my guitar!" He added with a bit of a pout.

"If the Slytherins see us we just wont survive."

"We'd have to hide."

"And never go outside..."

"It wears off after twelve hours anyway." Willow told them. "Which gives you til about ten."

"Ten? How boring." Ginny commented.

"Please!" Harry cried, throwing himself at their feet,

"We did nothing wrong,

and now we sing this song…

I can't take it anymore…

I beg you from the floor…

PLEASE!!"

"You have until ten." Buffy grinned.

"Then I'm not going out.

I don't give a… trout.

I'm going to my room,

and not coming out soon!" Harry did a series of spins and twists, eventually reaching the boys stairs and leaping up them, followed closely by Ron. The other guys looked between themselves, before running (as much as they could) after the two sixth years.

The girls laughed, giving each other high fives, and bumping fists. When they regained control, Hermione frowned,

"They're gonna get in crap if they don't turn up for class." She said.

"Only Harry and Ron." Ginny said.

"Still."

"We could just give them the antidote, and make the others wait." Buffy suggested.

"Aw." Ginny moaned, "I wanna make them go outside."

"You're a little more evil than you seem, Weasley." Amity laughed. Ginny grinned proudly,

"Thanks."

"I guess we'll have to get Harry and Ron down." Buffy sighed, "Which means we'll have to cure them."

"I guess." Ginny said disappointedly. Then she grinned, "Ooh, we can tell them that we'll cure them all if they come downstairs!" She said.

"Way more evil than you seem." Amity said in appreciation. The others nodded, and they headed up the boys stairs to the sixth year dorm.

A short while later, Ron and Harry were hurrying to get some breakfast, for once glad that they had lessons. The girls, who had eaten early so as not to miss the fun, were trying to convince the other guys to come out of the common room, but it wasn't proving to be easy. Faith, Amity, Luna and Hermione eventually had to go to class, so Buffy and Willow were left laughing at the boys, who kept trying to get angry, but ended up bursting into song instead.

By lunchtime the boys were back to normal, and were managing to see the funny side of it, though the fact that half the school was laughing at them was a little annoying. That they hadn't left the common room meant very little- most of the students were now telling of how they had seen them line dancing down the corridors. Fred and George were dealing with it easily, presenting it as their dramatic return to Hogwarts, but Harry, Ron, and most of the scoobies-guys were looking for a big hole to swallow them. The girls were merely grinning wider than ever before.

"How did you do it though?" George asked.

"Oh little fiddling with some sweets." Buffy said innocently.

"The sweets!" Fred exclaimed. "Bloody hell we were fooled by our own trick!"

"You still got the spell?" George asked, "This could be big."

The girls laughed,

"We might have it somewhere." Buffy teased, "But we'd so have to get royalties, as we invented them."

"Oh yeah." Willow agreed.

"How about we buy the recipe from you…"

"Nope. Not falling for that. We want 50 percent of anything you make off them." Hermione said, while the other girls nodded vigorously.

"50!" Fred cried, "Aw…"

"We can go for 60 if you really want." Buffy grinned.

"Fine, 50%." Fred conceded.

"Ooh, yey." Buffy clapped her hands.

"Note to self." Harry said, "Never eat anything that anyone else has touched."

Ron nodded,

"I'm going Moody style."

That evening, while the group was once more reunited in Buffy's room after her second year defence class, chatting happily and laughing about the days events, elsewhere in the castle, Draco Malfoy was starring at the letter in his hand, and the small vial of acid-green liquid that had been enclosed. He swallowed, and whispered,

"I will obey, my master."

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Sorry that it didn't rhyme properly. :(

Cookie for anyone who gets the double meaning of the title, other than the fact that it was the sweets that did this to them!! It's a little weird, but still, cookie if you get it!

Please review, it will lighten my heart during the stress of exams grins Please just review.


	46. Punch

Heya people! Slightly quicker update! Yey! Probably wont be able to update for at least a week now as I have all my biology exams, all my chemistry exams and another maths exam all this week, so argh. Wish me luck (im gonna need it)

To clear up a little misunderstanding- At the end of the last chapter, Draco didn't drink the potion! When I read some of the reviews, and saw that many of you thought he did, I checked how I'd written it, and realised that I did say he swallowed- but I meant it as in he swallowed nervously! Sorry bout that, but he has definitely NOT drunk that mysterious green liquid grins Again, whoa with the reviews! I love you guys! And my experiment worked! At least ten more people review than normal when cookies are offered!! You cookie-holics you! Glad you liked the singing- and Well done with the title, cookies all around- it was called 'a bit of Sweetness' cos the demon who makes Sunnydale burst into song in Once More With Feeling, is named Sweet. 

Blm452- You gotta wait and see with Faith, I'm not giving anything up til it happens I'm afraid- too much fun.

Angel of Slytherin- I really REALLY like you! What you're saying is totally off, but I like it anyway! Thanks!

MissKitty85- Ok, fine, smartie cookie just for you.

Tanydwr- Cool! See, you can rhyme better then me! pouts Oh well…

Matt Wild380- glad you like Ginny's evil side. And matt- thanks for the 'good luck' I really am gonna need it!

So you know the others stories you must ALL go read, and without further ado- new chapter!

  Chapter 46- Punch 

            "So… I add this… and then _this_ one, and…" Buffy stirred the potion, and it turned bright pink, "It's punch!" She declared happily.

            "I assure you it is _not_." Snape said dryly, eying the perfect potion with a little more than irritation.

            "Oh lighten up. You know what I meant." Buffy said, rolling her eyes. Snape sighed, looking at a sheet of parchment on his desk and shaking his head,

            "Honestly, for a complete bimbo, you do seem to have mastered the simpler potions rather quickly."

Buffy grinned,

            "You can say it- I'm good, uh-huh, I'm good…"

            "Do desist." Snape said tiredly, "I said the _simpler_ potions."

            "And yet you wanted me to sit in on your seventh year class?"

            "Yes, the class that Black, who knows nothing of magic, was able to keep up with. Do not flatter yourself, Potter."

            "I don't." Buffy said, pouting. "But, y'know, while we're on the personal upkeep issue…" Snape frowned, about to comment that they _weren't_, but Buffy continued, "You really could wash your hair now and then. I promise you it would look a whole lot better minus the grease."

            "How dare you…"

            "I'm doing you a favour!" Buffy interrupted. "I'm sorry, but everyone thinks it, they're only too intimidated to mention it. But I don't scare easy, so…"

            "You never tire of the sound of your own voice, do you?" Snape snapped.

            "Nope." Buffy grinned. Snape smirked, and Buffy gasped- that had almost been a smile.

            "That will be all for today." Snape said quickly. Buffy chuckled, and packed away her stuff, ignoring his looked of utter despair when she re-tucked her wand into her hair. Just as she reached the door, Buffy turned back to him,

            "Y'know, apart from being a total stiff, you're a good teacher."

Snape looked shocked.

            "Ah… Thank you?" He managed.

            "But you do realise that you'd get way better results with that lot [meaning the entire student body] if you didn't terrorise them so much?"

            "Sometimes they need to be put in their place." Snape said firmly.

            "Sometimes you need to get over grudges and see people for what they are." Buffy replied simply, and walked out, leaving the potions teacher completely stunned.

            Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville sat together in Defence against the dark arts, whispering as they worked, easily scribbling down answers to the set questions thanks to their extra defence last year. Lupin did not reprimand them, because, for starters, he knew each of them was good at the subject, plus he could see that even talking they were writing faster than the rest of the class.

            "So glad Lupin is back." Ron said yet again.

            "I know!" Harry agreed, "He's easily the best teacher we've had."

            "Easily." Hermione nodded, "Except maybe you of course." She grinned. Harry chuckled, and shook his head,

            "Yeah right."

            "Have you spoken to McGonogall yet?"

            "Yeah." Harry replied, "She says its fine, actually seemed pretty pleased, but said that I better not let it get in the way of Quidditch, and reminded me that we need to hold tryouts."

            "Yeah." Ron said thoughtfully. "We should have a look at the new second years, and try to make up for the fact that we've lost most of the damned team."

            "Well, while the twins are here, we could get them to help with choosing beaters, and maybe even train them a bit."

            "Good idea!" Ron cried, then cringed, and mouthed 'sorry' when Lupin raised his eyebrows.

            "Buffy wants me to show Faith how to play too- she's totally set on her joining the Slytherin team."

            "You should." Hermione said, "I think she'd be a good player."

            "She would be." Ron replied, "That's the point."

            "Oh don't be so pathetic Ron." Hermione scolded, "If you want to be the best team, you have to compete against the best."

            "She's right Ron." Harry sighed.

            "This is _wicked_ cool!" Faith cried several hours later as she sped around the quidditch stadium, following Harry, while the others watched from the ground, several armed with their own brooms in case an impromptu mini-match decided to break out. They showed Faith the balls, and some of the others joined in to show her how things worked, Fred and George showing off their bludging skills, and all of them getting shocked dumb by Faith's incredible accuracy and control.

            "Slayer reflexes." Buffy said happily as George gaped at Faith. She had just dodged the two bludgers easily and scored a goal past Ron from half way down the pitch.

            "I've changed my mind." Harry said, flying over to Buffy, "I don't want to teach her anymore… Or I want her on _our_ team."

            "Not a chance, Potter." Amity said gleefully as she joined them. She laughed as Faith continued to dodge incredibly, and cried, "How is this girl so good when she's never been on a broom before!?"

            "Well…" Harry said awkwardly, "Some people just have it, y'know?"

            "I guess." Amity said, smiling, "We may actually have a chance this year.

            "You wish." Harry retorted with a grin.

            "Don't be so cocky, Potter!" Amity laughed, "You don't have your precious Weasley twins, or Johnson, Wood, Spinnet… face it, your team just ain't what it used to be."

            "We can still beat _Slytherin_." Ron said spitefully.

            "Love to see you try." Amity shot back.

            "Can't wait." Ron snapped.

            "Guys, cool it!" Buffy said with exasperation, "It's a game."

            "Yeah yeah." Ron said, glaring at Amity. "And how do we know she isn't spying on us to see what the team's gonna be like?"

            "Ron, this isn't even a team practise." Harry rationalised.

            "So what? Half the team is here!"

            "I'm not friggin' spying, Weasley! Get a grip." Amity said.

            "And why should we trust your word, Slytherin?" Ron spat.

            "Ron!"

            "Whoa, kid." Faith cried as she flew over, the quaffle tucked under one arm. "You can trust her cos I trust her." She said.

            "Yeah, you trust her so much she doesn't even know why you're here." Ron snapped, before flying off. Amity frowned at Faith, while Harry and Hermione gaped after Ron.

            "I'll go talk to him." Hermione said.

            "He… he kinda has a thing about Slytherin…" Harry tried to explain.

            "Yeah, who doesn't?" Amity said bitterly, leaving the group.

            "Ami…" Faith said. "Oh shit… I'll see you guys later, ok?"

            "Yeah." Buffy said, "But… Faith?"

            "Yeah yeah, I know, I can't tell her the truth, yada yada ya…"

            "That's not what I was gonna say." Buffy interrupted. "I was gonna say that if it means anything to her… tell her that _I_ trust her."

            "Thanks, B." Faith said genuinely, and smiled. "I will." Faith then threw the ball to George, dismounted, and ran after Amity.

            "You know what's with Ronnikins?" George asked Harry. Harry shook his head,

            "No clue." He replied, "He just doesn't like Slytherins, understandably… but he didn't seem to have a problem with Amity before now. She seems perfectly nice."

            "Yeah." Buffy sighed. "Probably just Quidditch rivalry."

            "Yeah." Harry agreed.

            "So… you sure she's ok?"

            "Yup!" Faith replied, swinging at Buffy. "She's fine."

            "Good." Buffy replied, ducking, and sweeping at Faith's legs. Faith jumped over her leg, and looked around,

            "Thought G was comin'?"

            "So did I." Buffy said, attacking again. "Guess he's just late."

            "I thought you told me last time he was late his dead college mates were in town?"

            "Well… yeah, but that's hardly likely here, is it?"

            "In the magic school full of ghosts and surrounded by demons, no not at all."

            "Ha ha." Buffy replied dryly. They were still sparring as they spoke, attacking, dodging, jumping, and occasionally flipping.

            "Now _that's_ what I call entertainment." Said a voice from the doorway. Buffy smirked sideways at George. He and Fred were standing there, and had been watching for about a minute. Both slayers had noticed, but ignored them, preferring, though they wouldn't admit it, to show off a bit.

            "What did we say about being misogynist pigs?" Faith teased.

            "That it would be really smelly." Replied Fred with a thoughtful face.

            "Plus, the whole eating crap thing…" George began.

            "Maybe we should just turn them into pigs." Buffy suggested as she and Faith continued to fight.

            "Would definitely be amusing."

            "But not much fun to kiss." George said with a grin.

            "Na, but I could move on." Buffy said with a teasing smile.

            "Hey!" George cried.

            "Kidding, sweetie, she's kidding." Faith said, rolling her eyes.

            "Am I?"

            "Harsh, B."

Both slayers laughed, and the boys decided that maybe just keeping quiet was a better idea. A moment later, Giles ran through the door, panting,

            "I'm… sorry… sorry I'm late…"

            "Whoa, Giles, you ok?" Buffy asked.

            "F…fine." He breathed

            "You been fighting with the house elves again?" Faith said. Buffy laughed, and gave her an odd look. Faith just smirked.

            "I… lost track… of time…"

            "He was in the library again." Buffy sighed, rolling her eyes despairingly. "Giles, it's becoming pathetic."

            "It's a fascinating… collection…" He panted.

Buffy and Faith paused, both cocking their heads to one side in a weirdly similar way as they looked at Giles.           

            "Maybe you should sit down." Buffy suggested. She steered him to a small sofa at the side of the room, and then stood between him and her own wall of books.

            "Sorry." He said, "I got here as fast as I could."

            "We noticed." Fred drawled, grinning.

            "So… erm, training?" Giles said, deliberately ignoring Fred. Buffy and Faith shrugged, looking at each other,

            "We're done." They said simultaneously.

            "What?"

            "Finished. Going patrolling."

            "Oh… would you like me to…"

            "Na, that's ok." Buffy said.

            "What do you mean patrolling?" George asked. Faith raised her eyebrows, and Buffy looked awkward.

            "Well… y'know, going checking for vamps an' stuff."

            "You go _looking_ for them?"

            "How else are you meant to find 'em?" Faith asked.

            "But… they're dangerous, and…"

            "And that's the point." Buffy interrupted, "If we don't go looking, and take them out, people could get hurt."

            "or _you_ could!" George argued. Buffy and Faith shrugged again.

            "We're the slayers." Buffy said, "We can handle it. It's what we do."

            "Then I'm coming with you."

            "No."

            "Buffy, I'm not letting you go off…"

            "Yes you are." Buffy said firmly, "You have to. George… this is what I _do_. I've been doing it several times a week the whole time I've been here; an' for four years before that."

Fred and George were gaping at them. Buffy frowned, "George, you knew I was the slayer… you knew that before you _met_ me… this is what being a slayer _is_."

            "That and that way horny feeling you get after… it's weird…" Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Right, off topic." Faith said quickly. Buffy tried to stifle her grin, and stepped closer to George,

            "I'll be fine." She said, "I promise- we can deal. We probably wont even find any." George looked down at her with a worried expression, but could see that he wasn't going to win this. He cupped her cheek in his hand, saying,

            "I'll wait for you."

            "Thanks." Buffy smiled, as he stroked her cheek with his thumb. They kissed softly, and Buffy left with Faith, just grabbing a handful of stakes as she went.

            It was several hours before Buffy returned to the castle. The slayers separated in the entrance hall, and Buffy headed up through the silent castle towards her room. Mrs Norris passed her at one stage, and Buffy stuck out her tongue at her,

            "Stupid cat." She murmured. Round the next corner she almost bumped right into Filch.

            "What are you doing walking around at this time?" He snapped.

            "What ever I like." She replied, "That special dispensation, remember?"

He sneered at her, and walked off towards Mrs Norris without another word. Buffy shook her head slightly, and kept going. When she reached her door, Fairfax smiled down at her,

            "Good night?" He asked.

            "Yeah, it was ok." She replied, "Couple of vamps down in Hogsmeade, not hugely thrilling."

Fairfax chuckled,         

            "That's a _good_ thing."

            "I know." Buffy sighed, "But it does sorta work you up, y'know?"

            "I know."

            "Summers." Buffy said tiredly, and Fairfax swung forwards. As she entered, George looked up from the book he was reading, sitting on her couch. Buffy smiled brightly, "You really waited up for me."

He smiled,

            "Of course."

            "But it's nearly three." She chuckled. George just shrugged, dropping the book on the small coffee table. Buffy cleared several stakes from her pockets, leaving them in a pile near the bed, and kicking off her shoes. She curled up on the couch next to George. "Like I said." She sighed, "You act all tough…"

            "Hey." He poked her in the stomach, and she winced. "You ok?" He asked frowning.

            "Fine." She replied, "Lil' bruise is all."

            "Can I…?" He asked tentatively. Buffy hesitated, but nodded, and George gently lifted the edge of her shirt to reveal the bluish bruise that marred the smooth skin of her midriff. George grimaced, "Ouch- Madame Pomfrey could…"

            "It'll be gone in the morning." Buffy interrupted, "Slayer healing- it's really no biggy." George replaced her top, and shook his head,

            "I don't know how you handle all this." He murmured.

            "All what?" The slayer asked, looping her arm through his and leaning against his shoulder.    

            "All _this_, the slayer stuff. The nightly battles, bruises, cuts, the whole early death thing…"

            "Told you… I just have to."

            "No. It's not that simple." He replied. Buffy rolled her eyes,

            "Lets not do this conversation again, ok?" She said, finding an odd grin on her lips. "Kiss me." She said.

            "With pleasure." He chuckled, and complied. Buffy shifted to sit on his lap, and kissed him again, wrapping her arms around his neck. A minute or two later, they came apart, rather breathless. "Slaying always get you so juiced?" George asked. Buffy grinned,

            "Only when I don't get want I want."

            "I might have to go help those vamps train then." George said. Buffy chuckled, and kissed him again.

            Across the castle, in a Slytherin dorm, Draco Malfoy lay awake as he had for many hours of late, his mind unable to stray from the vial of green liquid in the drawer of his bedside table, and person it was meant  for.

---------

Please review! Hmm… what can I offer cookies for? Guess who its for maybe? evil grin


	47. Caring and Sharing

Exams are over, exams are over, Woohoo!!

Heya people! I got a nice long chapter for you, it's a little bit bitty, but lots happens… And some of it is stuff I wanted to do for _so_ long- bring on the angst!! grins

Hehe, the potion- I'm glad you were all guessing, much fun for me- very interesting actually. A note to Innogen- veritaserum isn't green, so its not that, and to musicgirl141- props for the originality, no one else said Amity. And witchlight, it doesn't count when you know cos I told you! But still, I'm not telling who its for or what it is, you'll have to wait and see. grins

Other reviews…

Becky- wow. Whole thing in two days. Cool.

matt- Yes, the thought of Draco and McGonogall is completely unbelievably gross, but it did make me laugh, so thanks.

Angel of Slytherin- Yum, cookies an icecream

Tanydwr- good luck for GCSE's, you'll be fine.

Elsawriter- hope AS's went ok. I finished today, so yey!

Now on with the story! I'm proud- I have scoobi-ness, Trio-ness, cuteness, angst, quidditch… all in one chapter!! :D

Oh, bugger… chapter title… hmm…

Chapter 47- Caring and sharing

Xander traced the path of the vine down the tree, and turned the door knob that appeared. He quietly entered the training room, and looking around. He smiled. On the small couch at the edge of the room, there was a lumpy blanket from which protruded a dark haired head. He walked over to the sleeping slayer, looking down at her for once peaceful face, deep in sleep. Amity had come to breakfast and informed them all that Faith wasn't in her room, and though Buffy had insisted she would be around somewhere, Xander had had a sneaking suspicion that he knew exactly where to find her. As she shifted in her sleep, she bought one hand out from under the blanket, and Xander frowned. Her knuckles were bruised. He crouched beside the sofa, and gently touched her shoulder,

"Faith?" He said. She awoke with a start, nearly knocking Xander backwards. "Whoa!" He cried, "Cool it."

"Xander? What are you doing in my…" She looked around. "Oh…"

Xander chuckled,

"Yeah, oh. You been here all night?"

"Couldn't sleep." Faith replied, "Patrol wasn't very eventful… needed to let off some steam." She nodded to the punch bag.

"So I can see." Xander said solemnly, indicating her bruised hands. Faith looked awkward, not meeting his eyes. Xander didn't know exactly why, but he reached out, and took her hands carefully in his, shocking her so much that she didn't even pull away. "Faith…" He murmured in disbelief. "This is…"

"Crazy?" She chuckled, "My area of expertise."

"Don't." He said.

"Don't what? It's what you were gonna say an you know it."

"Not the point." Xander snapped. He sighed, "Why did you do this?"

"Wasn't on purpose." She shrugged, "Just got carried away is all." She tugged her hands from his, threw the blanket aside, and stood, walking past him into the room.

"So what will you tell Buffy?" He asked, also standing.

"I wont." She replied, "And neither will you." It wasn't a request.

"Why not? Faith, you're hurting yourself!"

"Don't psychoanalyse me, Xander. I'm not suicidal, if that's what you're implying." Faith said coldly, "And I'm not _hurting_ myself, anyway- it was an accident."

"No no no, tripping up is an accident, spilling a drink is an accident; pummelling a punchbag til your hands are blue is _not_ an accident, Faith!"

"Just leave it, Xander." Faith said tiredly.

"No." He replied, "I wont. Like it or not, we care about you, Faith. I wont stand by and let you hurt yourself."

"You really think you could stop me if that's what I wanted?" Faith snapped, turning on him,"Huh?"

"No." Xander replied simply, "I know I couldn't. But it doesn't mean that I wont try."

"Then you're an idiot."

"Learnt that a long time ago." Xander said calmly. "But if it is caring for people that makes me an idiot, then I'm proud to be one."

"Why do you always do this?" She asked quietly.

"Do what?"

"Be so stupidly… insightful. You look for too much in people."

"No, I just see more than most."

"You should be with Buffy, and Will, your friends." She told him, "Not here, arguing with the girl who tried to kill you about…crap."

"Ah, but we've covered this- I'm an idiot, remember?"

Faith cracked a smile, chuckling. She smiled at him, shaking her head, and wondering what it was that life was trying to do to her.

"I'm gonna head back to my room." She said, "Look up a healing charm." She held up her hands. Xander nodded,

"See you later then- good luck with quidditch!"

"Yeah." Faith replied with a quirky smile, before leaving. Xander watched her go, and sighed.

------------

"This place is amazing." Willow sighed as she and Buffy walked side by side down the lawn towards the lake.

"Isn't it?" Buffy grinned.

"You're happy here, huh?" Willow said quietly. Buffy nodded slowly,

"It's good here. Bit of a change… and I think I'm helping, y'know?"

"You're definitely helping. These kids… I get the feeling their world is gonna change pretty dramatically sooner or later, and every single one of them is gonna need to be able to fight. You're giving them a lot."

"But?" Buffy said, smiling wryly. "You have but face."

Willow chuckled,

"But… there's still Sunnydale, the hellmouth an' all…"

"I know." Buffy sighed. "But… I mean, I think the demon populace is a little off since the mayor, and we haven't had any big mojo warnings… I know what you're saying, Will, but Voldemort is _big_, and I have to be here, for Harry if not for anyone else."

"I get that." Willow replied, "I know. But maybe… I hate to say this, cos as I said, I love this place, and its so great seeing you again… But…"

"Maybe you guys should head back?" Buffy finished. Willow nodded. "I understand." Buffy said, "You have college, Xander has… I'm not so sure what…"

"Anya came to see him just before we left." Willow said with a renewed grin.

"Demon girl Anya?"

"Yup. Scared the crap outta him I think, asking where their relationship was going."

"Oh my god." Buffy laughed.

"Yup."

"So… how's everything with you an' Oz, then?" Buffy asked.

"Good." Willow smiled, "It's a little scary how many people he knows around UC Sunnydale, but it means I'm right in there, so fun."

Buffy chuckled,

"Good. That's great." She said.

"What is it?" Willow asked suddenly. Buffy looked sideways at her,

"What's what?"

"You have your whole, 'something bigger that I don't wanna share' vibe."

Buffy raised her eyebrows,

"I do not…"

"Nu-uh. I want an answer- I'm not letting off til I get a proper answer."

"But Will…"

"Nope- resolved face." She looked stern, and Buffy couldn't help but laugh.

"Will…" She sighed, "It's nothing specific… I just get the feeling this is gonna get _bad_, but I don't know when, or how… I feel completely unprepared. I've had all these dreams, and there're bits that make no sense! I can never remember the whole thing, and…" She trailed off, "Voldemort is bigger than anything I've ever faced, Will."

Willow scoffed,

"No way. Mayor was bigger, easy."

"I don't mean physical size." Buffy said witheringly.

"I know." Willow confessed. "But you can deal, Buffy. You have your whole new found magic, and Harry, and all the help you possibly need a fireplace away. You'll do fine."

Buffy forced a smile, and said,

"I know. I guess I have to… I just…" She looked to her best friend with tears in her eyes, "I just wish my Mom was here."

------------

"Hey." Xander called, jogging to catch up with Faith as she left the entrance hall after lunch.

"Hey." She replied, not pausing. He glanced at her hands, "All patched up." She said, anticipating his question.

"Good." He said. "So… you ok?"

"Five by five."

"Faith…"

"What?" She snapped, stopping, "Why can no one ever just take that I'm ok?"

"I would- if you were."

"There you go again! If you really enjoy this so much, go study psychology an' stop bugging me."

"I just… I know you're hurting Faith." He said quietly.

"I'm fine." She said hollowly, "I can deal."

"You shouldn't have to deal on your own."

She looked up at him, for once not wondering what he wanted from her, because he was one man she had finally realised was not just here because of her body. She didn't want to admit it… but maybe he actually cared. She had always longed for that- someone who cared for the sake of caring… she'd always wished to feel that… wished for someone she could feel that _for_… but it was stupid. It was weak. She was the slayer- emotions were merely a distraction. Still… he was so close… she could hear his very heart beat… She stepped forwards, her breathing strangely ragged, and their lips met softly. The kiss was warm and sweet, softer and truer than Faith had ever felt. When they came apart, she just looked into his eyes for a moment, before murmuring,

"Well… that was…new." Then she frowned, looking down, then around her. "I… I gotta…" She gabbled, the frown deepening, "I gotta go."

Xander found he had no breath to call after her. He watched her half-run down the lawn away from him, and he could not move to stop her.

"Ok then, Black." Malfoy said, "Let's see what you can do."

The present Slytherin team were in a sort of panel, testing each potential in several different aspects of the game. Faith had been watching each student try out, and listened to the string of (almost entirely) insults that came from the team for each and every one. Faith steeled herself, determined to do well, and shoved any thought of anything else, especially a certain American teen, out of her mind.

First was the beater test. It was like a gauntlet, one Slytherin beater on each side of a long stretch of pitch. The person trying out was given a bat and told that all they had to do was get to the other end. Faith had seen several people drop out after only this portion of the tryout, most of them with bloody noses. _Not me_. She told herself stubbornly. She hefted the bat in her hand, and set off. Both Crabbe and Goyle pelted a bludger at the same time. Faith dodged downwards, and the two balls hit each other, bouncing off and flying in opposite directions. Faith returned to her track, flying quickly down the stretch, and listening out for the tell-tale whip of air. She turned suddenly to her right, and Malfoy grinned- she had turned _into_ the path of a bludger. What he hadn't counted on was that she was quick enough to catch the ball with her bat, and send it straight back at the beater. She dodged the second ball, and kept flying, easily making it to the other end. She smiled at the Slytherin captain, who was waiting at the end. He wrote something down on the clip board he was holding, but she didn't miss the glance over her shoulder, or the nasty smile. Faith moved effortlessly to the side, and the bludger shot past her left ear, missing her by about half a foot. The captain looked shocked, and very glad he wasn't in the line of fire. Faith smirked, and dodged to the _other_ side as the second bludger passed, again without even turning. The captain almost snarled.

"Very good." He said reluctantly. He took the bat, and handed her a quaffle, informing her that she would need to dodge the members of the Slytherin team, and attempt to score a goal. She merely nodded, and set off.

Thankfully, the Slytherin team seemed to be based on size, not speed or skill, and she easily dodged when they cut in front of her. When one of them actually plowed right into the side of her, Faith lost her grip on the ball, and cursed loudly. However, she dived quickly down, straight at the guy who had caught it, and snatched it back from his hands with ease, and a quick,

"Thanks." Just to piss him off. Scoring was a very simple matter of shooting much earlier than they expected, from a fair way down the pitch, and getting it through a side hoop before they could consider it.

Again the captain wrote a note, and sneered at her.

"We have a seeker and a keeper." He snapped, "So that's it."

Faith knew for a fact that others had tried for keeper, and that they weren't trying seekers because of Malfoy's father's reputation. But she smiled none the less, knowing she had done better than any of the other tryouts. It wouldn't hugely bother her if they chose to not include her through spite.

"Not too bad." Malfoy said to her, as she headed for the edge of the pitch.

"Thanks." She said.

"I guess Potty taught you, huh?"

"Showed me a bit." She replied simply. Faith got the feeling that there was more he wanted to say, but he just nodded, and flew back to the team. Faith watched him, frowning, but shrugged, and left.

------------

"Reckon anyone will turn up?" Harry asked nervously.

"Of course they will." Hermione replied.

"Definitely. We're just early." Ron added.

"They'll be here." Neville agreed.

It was the first DA meeting of the term, and Harry was more nervous than he had expected to be, but sure enough, a moment later, the door opened, and Luna stuck her head round, and grinned,

"Am I early?"

"Na, just on time." Harry said, "Come on in."

Soon after, Ginny came in, dragging Dean behind her, who still jumped at any noise whenever he was with Ginny. He looked around, saw that the twins weren't here, and visibly relaxed.

"We late?" Ginny asked.

"Nope. You're one of the first." Ron told her.

"Oh good."

Others who had come all last year were soon filtering in, all grinning and saying how glad they were it was back on. Even Cho turned up, though without her friend. Just as Harry was thinking of making a start, the door opened once more, and Buffy, Faith, Amity and the twins came in. Dean appeared to wilt, but Harry grinned. Amity was looking very sceptical, but Faith nudged her, and whispered something, and Buffy gave Harry a thumbs up.

"Oh god." Harry murmured, "They're not just here to watch."

"Course not." Hermione scoffed, "They want to learn wizarding defence just like we want to learn muggle defence."

"And the twins!? Or Amity?" He said desperately.

"You've got plenty of seventh years anyway, Harry, stop being such a wimp and get on with it." Ron said.

"Ok…" Harry breathed. Everyone fell quiet as if they could sense he was about to start. "Hi everyone." He said, "I'm, erm… I'm glad so many of you have come back, and some new people too… I guess maybe today we should just recap on some of the stuff we did last year before moving on, so if you guys just pair up, and start practising, I'll come round and, erm, well, have a look."

People nodded, and started talking again as they paired off. Buffy and the others had made their way to the front, Buffy grinning widely,

"Relax!" She told him. "You've done this loadsa times before."

"Yeah, well you weren't here then, were you." He snapped. Faith chuckled,

"You'll do great, kid. Teach us how to kick ass with a different type of wooden stick." She didn't even realise she'd said it until after it was out, and Amity was frowning.

"Wands as apposed to… pencils." Buffy said, wincing at her own cover. Amity frowned deeper, and Buffy shrugged, "Faith has _wicked_ literary skills."

Faith gave her a looked that said, very plainly, please don't help me. Amity shook her head slightly, and said,

"Whatever. Lets just do this."

"K." Faith replied.

"Georgy." Buffy said in a childish voice, "I'm with you."

"So who do I get?" Fred asked. Ron and Hermione were together, Luna and Neville, Faith and Amity, Ginny and Dean, (thought Dean was trying to pretend he wasn't)

"Hey Harry." Seamus said, "Dean's with Ginny, Nevilles with Loony Lovegood…"

"Don't call her that." Harry said defensively, "And you can go with Fred."

He then looked around, and seeing that everyone was getting started, and that Hermione and Ron were working along side Amity, Faith, Buffy and George to show them some stuff, he started circulating, correcting postures and incantations. They only had a couple of people fly across the room, and no one getting turned into something odd, so Harry felt that the first session of the year was looking like a success. Buffy spent a lot of the time watching her younger brother. She saw that after his initial jitters, he was right in his element, knowing exactly how to correct something someone was doing, and not even hesitating when someone asked a question. She didn't tell him when she saw Lupin slip in at the back to watch.

All too soon as far as the students were concerned, they had to stop, and, after hearing that the next session was scheduled for next Saturday, the students began to leave. The group left in the room consisted of the Weasleys, the Potters, Hermione, Luna, Faith and Amity. Dean had given some excuse to run off, so Ginny was looking rather peeved.

"You're good, Potter." Amity said unexpectedly.

"Well duh." Buffy laughed, elbowing Harry, who grinned.

"I'm still kinda curious to see the famous Patronus though." Amity continued.

"The… People know about that?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Of course they do." Lupin said. He had been standing right by the door, careful to draw no attention to himself until now. Harry started.

"Professor…"

"I was very impressed." He said genuinely, joining the group.

"So, you gonna show?" Amity asked. Harry looked a little put out,

"What… now?"   
"Why not?" Buffy asked, "I'd quite like to see it too."

Harry knew that Buffy's reason was different to the others, and smiled,

"Sure." He said. He drew his wand, and pointed it into the middle of the almost empty room. He thought of Buffy, and the fact that he was not alone- he _did_ have family, and he said, "Expecto Patronum!" And a huge silver stag erupted from his wand. It galloped about the room, and came to a halt before Harry and Buffy. Buffy's breath caught in her throat as she reached out to it, and even Lupin couldn't speak, being the only one there who had seen the exact life replica many years ago. The stag nickered, and turned, trotting away and fading to nothingness.

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Sorry about the crappy title, but I _did_ just make it up.

Review please!!


	48. Skin

Hey guys! Sorry that it's been a while- exams are over but suddenly there's tonnes going on! Went to my first Uni open-day today- so cool!!

Anyhoo… None of you asked questions :( So no answers to give- just thanks for reviewing.

All go read Becks89, witchlight, shootingstar19 and fanfic-frankie's stories!!

Now, on with mine…

This is a fun chapter- I've wanted to post it for so long!

Chapter 48-Skin

_ The red eyes gleamed as the laugh echoed all around. Green liquid dripped, and a feeling of horror cut deep into those watching…_

Both slayers, on opposite sides of the castle, awoke with a jolt. The dream had been barely more than a flash before their eyes just before they awoke, but both remembered it vividly, not that it told them anything particularly significant. They each shook off the feeling of dread, took a shower, and headed down to breakfast.

They were early, it being a Sunday, and most students making the most of the weekend lie-in. Just as Buffy reached the bottom of the marble stairs into the entrance hall, Faith came up from the Slytherin corridor.

"Hey B." She greeted.

"Hey… bad dream?" Buffy asked. Faith smirked,

"How'd you guess?" She asked sarcastically.

"Any idea what it means?"

"Other than Voldemort likes green? Not a clue." Faith sighed. They entered the great hall to find that there were only a couple of people there, over on the Ravenclaw table. Faith shrugged, and followed Buffy to the Gryffindor table, finding the concept of sitting on her house table when there was no one else here utterly stupid.

"So, you know about the team yet?" Buffy asked.

"Nope. It's goin' up this morning, and I doubt Montague is up yet."

"Not many people are." Buffy yawned.

"Friggin dreams." Faith moaned in agreement.

They ate some toast, chatting about quidditch, classes and slaying, their voices getting quieter as students began to fill the hall. When Faith saw that many Slytherins were down, and giving her odd looks, she sighed, "I guess I better…" But she was cut off by the entry of the scooby gang. Giles sat down on one side of her, Xander on the other, while Will and Oz sat opposite with Buffy. Faith got very interested in her toast, before saying, "Erm, yeah, I gotta go." And standing to leave.

Half way across the entrance hall, she heard Xander call out,

"Hey, Faith."

She stopped, but didn't turn around.

"What?"

"Are you avoiding me or something?"

"Why would I be avoiding you?"

"I don't know." He replied, "That's the thing."

"I'm not avoiding you." She said, and kept walking. Xander ran to catch up,

"Now, see, that indicates avoidance."

Faith stopped again, and sighed in frustration.

"Is this cos of yesterday?" Xander asked, "Because, I didn't mean to be… I didn't…"

"You really think you could have made anything happen if I didn't want it?" Faith said before considering the words. Xander gaped at her. "I mean…" She said quickly, "I mean, it's not like you forced it or anything… I'm not angry, if that's what you're thinking. You know me… it was skin, that's it." She tried to keep walking, but in a movement that would not long ago have been very dangerous, Xander stepped in front of her.

"It's not." He said.

"Not what?"

"That simple."

"Of course it is."

"No, you said it yourself… it was different." He insisted. Even Xander wasn't sure why he was so into this, why he kept pushing it, but never the less he did.

"It was nothing." Faith snapped, "Why would it be? It was meaningless, just a kiss. Why would it be anything more? I told you, it's just skin."

"Why do you insist on shutting people out? What the hell is with this phobia of letting people care?"

"That's bull, Xander, you don't have a clue what you're talking about. Now get outta my way." She pushed past him, into the corridor, but he followed,

"Faith, please, would you just talk to me?"

"What, cos of our _connection_?" She said bitterly, "You do remember how that went last time, right?"

"That was different." Xander said. "Look… I know I'm not exactly your type, and I'm not trying anything, I swear. Like you say, its not as if I could anyway. I just… I know how much you're hurting inside, all I want to do is help."

"Well you can't." Faith said hollowly.

Xander couldn't think of anything to say. He just starred at the back of her head, wishing there was something, anything, he could do.

"Aren't you going tonight?" Faith asked without turning around.

"Tomorrow morning." He replied.

"Right." She said, still not turning. It sounded very final. She took a step away from him, but suddenly turned back. Half of her was screaming NO! But her body wouldn't listen. She stepped up to Xander, and threw her arms around his neck as he caught her in another kiss. She backed up against a wall, allowing no thought in but that of the feeling of his lips against her own, and his fingers in her hair. Neither of them knew how long it was before they parted. For a moment, she just looked up at him, and then she pushed him away, and set off down the corridor, ignoring his calls. She hurried round two corners before flattening herself against the wall, hands clenched, and unable to understand the tears building in her eyes. She prayed that he wouldn't follow.

Xander strode round the first corner, but paused at the next. _Faith_ had run away. He was leaving tomorrow… and she clearly didn't want this anyway. Like she said so often, its just skin to her, it means nothing. Sure it felt like more to him, and it looked to him as if it meant more than that to her… but that's what he thought before, and could he have been more wrong? He sighed dejectedly, and turned away.

At the sixth year defence class that evening, Faith once again had come along, but sat silently to one side. Buffy didn't understand it as no matter what was bothering her, Faith tended to pretend nothing was wrong- in fact, the worse she felt, the more cheerful she was likely to be… but Buffy just continued her lesson. The sixth year were coming along well, Harry, Neville, Ron and Hermione especially, but others too- even Draco Malfoy was getting pretty good. Each could easily disarm each other, and throwing off an attacker from behind was no problem. Hermione had nearly crippled Ron when he had been stupid enough to hug her from behind at the beginning of the class. She spent several minutes apologising, while Harry, Neville and several others just laughed.

"I'm gonna get jokes about this forever." Ron moaned, refusing help up.

"I really am sorry."

"Yeah yeah."

"You ok, Ron?" Buffy had asked.

"Fine." He snapped irritably.

"Ok then…"

At the end of the class, while everyone else filed out, the small group stayed back with Buffy. She grinned at Ron and Hermione,

"You have that flip down perfect." She told Hermione, who blushed, and nodded,

"Thanks." While Ron glared.

"Seriously though, you guys are pretty wicked- I wouldn't wanna meet you on a dark night."

"Ok, now that's patronising." Harry stated. Buffy rolled her eyes,

"I'm serious! I'm not saying I couldn't kick your butts, cos obviously I could, I'm just saying it might not be as easy as it would with most people."

"Thanks." Harry said sarcastically. They began walking out, Faith trailing along behind. Buffy gave her a brief worried look, but Faith frowned at her and then forced a smile.

"Five by five." She said.

"Heard that before." Buffy murmured, but didn't push it.

"You finished that Potions?" Harry was asking Hermione. She made a face,

"Almost. I'm going to head to the library, actually, see if I can find that book he mentioned."

"Want me to come?" Ron asked. Hermione grinned, knowing what answer he was hoping for.

"That's ok." She replied, "I wont be long. I'll see you down at dinner." She headed down the next staircase, while the rest of them continued, though Faith paused, looking back the way they'd come. Draco Malfoy was standing in the shadows. He knew she'd seen him, but turned away. Faith glanced over her shoulder, and seeing that the others had gone on, she followed him.

"What were you doing?" She asked.

"Walking." He replied, "That a crime now?"

"Skulking more like." She said, falling in step beside him, noticing that one hand was in his pocket, and it looked like it was clenched, as if her was holding something.

"I was just walking, and found myself right behind that lot, so I stopped, and turned round."

"Whatever." Faith scoffed.

"I saw you this morning." He said, "Sitting with that lot, at the Gryffindor table."

"So? Am I meant to be intimidated?"

"Most Slytherins would die before sitting there."

"They're stupid then." She snapped, "It's a table."

"You just don't understand how this place works, do you?" He snapped, "How this world works. None of you do. You may be pure blood, but you're really just a muggle. You, Granger, you're all just the same, a disgrace to the name of witchcraft." His hand fiddling with whatever was in his pocket, she caught a tiny glimpse of something green. Then he shoved his hand back down, and whirled, marching off back the way they'd come. Faith chuckled, shaking her head, and murmuring,

"Drama queen." She kept on in the same direction, working her way round to rejoin the main stairs to find the great hall.

Hermione left the library with the book she needed, and a couple of extras tucked into her bag, which was slung over her shoulder. Glancing at her watch, she realised she was more than a little late for dinner, and quickened her pace. Suddenly, with a loud ripping sound, the bottom of her bag gave way, and books cascaded out. Cursing, she crouched to retrieve them. She frowned as a vaguely familiar hand picked one up and handed it too her. Hermione looked up, and gasped. In one movement, Draco Malfoy shoved her back up against the wall, his forearm across her chest, and a hand clapped over her mouth. She uttered a muffled scream, but no one was there to hear.

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:D hehehe, dun dun duuun! Any guesses about what happens?

grins

Review please!!


	49. Flight

Heya guys! Sorry I keep taking ages between posts, can you believe I'm busier since my exams finished!? How stupid is that?? Argh. Doing a talk tomorrow on 'do we need men'- all biological fact, of course, y chromosomes and all that. 

Anyway- thanks for all the reviews, theres a couple of general notes-

Gyver21 and everyone else who asked, yes, fine, you can have cookies!! 

All the people who asked what's up with Faith and Xander… is it really that hard to figure out? They kissed, Faith freaked, Xander left. (hehe, I love writing angst!)

All go read Becks89, witchlight, and shootingstar19's stories- they're very cool.

Ooh, now, another fun chapter. I have a feeling I may be disappointing at least one person, but you'll probably be able to guess some of what's coming if you've read my other fics…

Chapter 49-Flight 

            It wasn't until she'd nearly reached the entrance hall that the answers to the various questions buzzing in the back of Faith's mind came together.

Why had Malfoy specifically said Granger? He'd said, 'You, Granger' and for some reason it had bugged her. Why had he gone back in the opposite direction to which he had been heading? Why had he really been watching them? What was that green thing in his pocket? That was when she froze.

Granger.

He'd heard Hermione say she was going to the library.

Something green…

Green Liquid.

Faith turned on her heel, and ran.

            Hermione's eyes were wide as Malfoy held her hard against the wall.

            "Don't try to scream again." He snarled. "That would just be stupid." He took his hand away from her mouth.

            "What the hell do you want?" She spat.

            "Just shut up." He said, digging in his pocket with his free hand. He pulled out the small vial of green liquid. "I have my orders, that's all." He awkwardly removed the cork from the bottle, and looked at Hermione. "Now don't make a fuss." He said nastily. Hermione did.

            "Get the hell off me!" She snapped, trying to knee him, but he held her back with his own body, the arm across her chest preventing attack with her arms. They were so close that each could hear the others heart beat. Malfoy shifted his arm, gripping her jaw as she slammed it shut, turning her face away as much as she could. He wrenched it back, and raised the vial.

            Hermione looked up into the eyes of the Slytherin boy she had hated for over five years. She was fighting tears, refusing to give him such satisfaction as he looked down into hers. His silver grey eyes were feverishly bright, and his jaw set. As he squeezed, forcing her mouth open, Hermione just waited for the acid green liquid to be dripped in. Her head tipped back, she could only just see the vial, but her mind was skimming through every potion and poison she could think of with a vaguely similar colour. Would she have time to get an antidote? Or would he maybe hold her here until… she could barely think it. Maybe it wasn't so bad, maybe just to threaten her… but he said he had his orders… but who would give him orders, other than Voldemort… only why would Voldemort be interested in her? Through all this, it took some time for Hermione to realise that even though he'd got her here, with everyone else at dinner, even managing to force her mouth open, the vial only inches away, he hadn't done it yet. He was just looking at her. The hand that held her face was shaking violently. Suddenly, Malfoy shoved her hard against the wall, but let go, and flung the vial across the floor, where it shattered. He marched quickly away as Hermione slid to the ground with her hands to her throat, gaping at the spot where the vial had smashed.

            Malfoy hurried away, turning the corner so fast he almost ran head long into Faith, but didn't even pause as he knocked into her shoulder. Faith starred at him for a moment, awful scenarios filling her mind. She ran round the corner to see Hermione crouched against the wall, hands at her throat, and eyes wide. She rushed to the girl's side,

            "Hermione." She said desperately, "Can you hear me?"

Hermione blinked a couple of times, looked at Faith, and nodded slowly, before returning her gaze to the ground. Faith followed her line of sight, and grimaced. Pieces of broken glass were scattered over an area of the floor where something green was burning into the bare stone, fizzing and smoking. Faith's eyes widened, "Oh god, he didn't…?"

Hermione shook her head,

            "He didn't." She croaked. She frowned, looking at Faith with a little more clarity. "He got me here, could have done it… but he didn't."

            "You stop him?" Faith asked. Hermione shook her head,

            "Couldn't… he just… stopped." She looked vacant for a moment, then said, "He said that he had orders. Said he was following orders."

            "From the big V?"

            "I guess… only I don't know why he'd be interested in _me_."

            "Pick a number." Faith scoffed, "You're muggle born, you're best friends with Harry, you're probably the brightest girl in the school…"

            "Whatever." Hermione snapped, "Point is… if Voldemort ordered him to… to… kill me."

            "And by the looks of it, he did." Faith added.

            "But Malfoy _didn't_… well… Voldemort isn't going to be too happy about it, now is he?"

            "You got that right." Faith agreed. "He's gonna kill 'im." She said matter of factly, "Literally." She starred at the burned patch for a moment, before shaking herself into action mode. "Ok, Hermione, you go to madame Pomfrey…"

            "No. I don't need to… he really didn't hurt me."

            "Fine, then go to the common room, I'm going to Dumbledore." But as Faith rose, Hermione grabbed her arm,

            "Faith… I don't… I don't want him expelled or anything."

Faith gaped incredulously,

            "The dude tried to kill you."

            "But he _didn't_." Hermione said, "He could have, easily, and he _didn't._"

Faith sighed,

            "I know… I guess there is more to that boy than anyone knows."

Hermione found a smile coming to her lips,

            "That's why you chose Slytherin." She said quietly. Faith started,

            "What?"

            "That's why you chose Slytherin, to get close to Malfoy… you always believed there was more to him."

Faith smirked,

            "You see more than you let on." She said. "Look- go back to the common room. I'll go to Dumbledore, and tell him the deal… he'll know _how_ to deal."

Hermione nodded slowly,

            "Ok." She murmured. She started to gather her books- it seemed like an age since her bag had split… and so much had changed since it had.

            "And Hermione?"

            "Yeah?"

            "You sure you're ok?"

            "I'm fine." She replied.

            It seemed like a very long time that Hermione had been sitting in the common room, alone. She knew that everyone, including Dumbledore, would have been at dinner, but it still seemed to be taking too long. She found herself fidgeting, unable to sit still for more than a second or two. Eventually, Faith reappeared through Buffy's door,

            "Come on- Dumble-D wants to see you." She said kindly. Hermione nodded, and jumped up. The two girls walked in silence to the headmaster's office, and Faith gave the password (Humbug) to let them in. The moment they were on the staircase Hermione could hear the uproar in the office, and began wringing her hands. As they reached the door, in a strangely mothering gesture, Faith placed her hand on the younger girls, and said, "Hey, relax." Hermione smiled softly, and let her hands fall to her sides. Then Faith opened the door, and Hermione was immediately hit by Ron, who hugged her tight, before holding her at arms length to check for damage,

            "What did that damned ferret do to you?" He demanded, "Are you ok?"

            "I'm fine, Ron." Hermione said, detaching herself. "Really, he didn't hurt me."

            "He attacked you!"

            "But he didn't hurt me." She repeated.

            "Miss Granger." Dumbledore said, drawing the attention of the whole of the large group within the office, "I would be grateful if you could tell me exactly what happened- do sit down."

Hermione took the proffered seat, and recounted the events, ignoring Harry and Ron's angry out bursts, which interrupted most of the story.

            "Where is the little bastard…" Ron cried, making for the door. Buffy was the one to stop him, pulling him back and shoving him into a seat.

            "Professor Snape is looking for him now." Dumbledore said calmly.

            "Snape?" Hermione cried, "But he'll be horrid! If it's _him_ chasing him, Malfoy will run! He'll…"

            "Hermione, that's a good thing." Harry said with gritted teeth, "Malfoy deserves anything he gets!"

            "No!" Hermione cried, "You don't get it! He was ordered to do it by _Voldemort_! He will have known as well as any of us that Voldemort would kill him for failure in such a task, and yet he still didn't kill me, even though it was _me_, of all people. He hates me, you all know that- I'm everything that he despises, but he still didn't do it. He's not what he likes people to think he is… and if Snape goes running after him, Malfoy will flee the school, and then… then he's dead for sure."

No one spoke for a moment, all of them shocked by Hermione's outburst in defence of a boy she couldn't stand.

            "I assure you that _Professor_ Snape will _not_ chase Mr Malfoy from the premises." Dumbledore said. "However, he will need to be strictly reprimanded, you must understand. If he is truly receiving direct orders from Voldemort, we must be sure of his intentions."

Hermione hung her head, even herself unsure of why she was so concerned for Malfoy. Why shouldn't he be punished? Of course he _should_, part of her said, but much of her just couldn't agree.

            "I'd like to just go to bed." Hermione said tiredly.

            "Yes, yes of course." Dumbledore said.

            "I'll take her." Ron said.

            "Me too." Harry added. Dumbledore needn't have nodded to Buffy, as she was already by the door, ready to accompany them.

            "In fact, I suggest that everyone call it a night, we can do much more in the morning than we can now."

The group nodded and murmured their agreement, all heading out of the office after Buffy and the trio.

            Ron and Harry had left Hermione at the bottom of the girl's stairs as they could not enter the girl's dorms. She had lain down without changing, just flopping back onto her bed, and wincing slightly as she landed on the bruises all over her back from the harsh impact with the stone wall. Of course no one knew about these, and they barely bothered her- they were nothing on what might have happened. Hermione wondered if Snape had found Malfoy yet. She wondered what Malfoy was intending to do now. She climbed off her bad and headed to the window, gazing out into the dark. Down in the grounds she could see Hagrid's hulking figure heading for his cabin. Another movement caught Hermione's attention from the corner of her eye: A much smaller figure running down the front steps, and heading down the long drive towards Hogsmeade. Hermione's eye flew wide, and she bolted from the room without a second thought. She flew through the common room, ignoring the yells as she shoved past people. She didn't care how loud her footsteps sounded as she hammered through the school, reaching the entrance hall in record time. Soon she was out of the front door, and pelting down the drive.

            Harry and Ron sat on their beds in the dorm. The others weren't up there yet as it wasn't quite curfew, though it wouldn't be long.

            "I can't believe Voldemort has sunk to the level of using Malfoy." Harry said, spitting the last word like something nasty.  

            "I know. Doesn't say much for his team, does it?"

            "I wonder if Snape has found him?"

            "Dunno, but I hope he strings him up by his own guts." Ron said. "Little rat bastard messing with Hermione… I _hope_ Voldemort gets him."

Harry cringed- he knew what Ron meant. He was hoping that Voldemort would use the Cruciatus curse on Malfoy. But Harry found he couldn't wish that on any body. Having felt the pain himself, he just couldn't.

            "Hey!" Ron said suddenly, "Why don't you use the map?"

            "The map?"

            "Yeah, the marauders map! You can use it to find Malfoy!" Ron said triumphantly.

            "Good idea." Harry said. He got it out, and laid it out on his bed, touching it with his wand and saying, "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."

The two boys peered down at it as the green lines began to form, showing Hogwarts and all its secrets. "Huh. Well he's not in the Slytherin common room or dorms, or in Snapes office."

            "Not in Dumbledore's either… though Snape is." Ron added.

            "Where is he?" Harry murmured. His eyes trailed across the whole map, even scanning the outside, right down to the great long drive… he gaped. "Oh god." He gasped.

            "What?" Ron asked, looking where Harry pointed, just in time to see the little dot labelled 'Hermione Granger' disappear from the school grounds.

            Draco Malfoy had a bag slung over one shoulder in which he carried most of the contents of his trunk, and his broom was resting on the other shoulder as he walked through the deserted streets of Hogsmeade. He was getting a bad feeling about this. Just as he was lowering his broom, thinking that flying might be a better option, the broom whipped out of his hand, and figure in a black cloak walked out of the shadows to catch it.

            "Tut tut tut, little Malfoy." Said the masked deatheater, "Running away?"

Several pops announced the arrival of a ring of five more death eaters, surrounding the sixth year boy. "The master sent us. He wasn't particularly happy with the way you handled you first real assignment."

            "It… didn't work out the way I hoped." Draco stammered.

            "No, it didn't." The death eater snapped, "Seeing as how she's still alive an' all."

            "She… she fought back." Draco declared. "She knocked it out of my hand before I could…" He was cut of by the quick snap of,

            "Crucio!" And his words moulded into a scream. "Do not lie." The deatheater ordered.

            "Please!" Draco begged, "I'll do better… I didn't mean…"

            "You didn't mean what, Boy? To be a weak, pathetic little wretch; A disgrace to your family name?"

            "I didn't think I'd have to _kill_ anyone…" He gasped.

            "This is all still a game to you, isn't it? Stupid, foolish child."

            "Give me mercy!" Draco cried, still writhing on the ground under the curse.

            "Mercy? _Mercy!?_ Why should the master grant you mercy, you filthy worm?"

            "Pretty much cos otherwise he's gonna get his ass kicked." Declared a voice outside the circle. The next moment, with a couple of nasty thumping sounds, two death eaters collapsed before they could even turn. As the curse was lifted when the Deatheater's attention shifted to the newcomer, Draco squinted up from the ground- who could it be? The Potter girl? Black, maybe? But his eyes widened in shock when he saw who it was that kicked the wand from the next death eater's hand.

            "Granger?" He gasped.

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Sorry elsawriter! I know you said you don't like Draco not being a bad guy, and I promise he's not gonna be fluffy… you'll see. Anyway, Please Review!!

Cookies for…hmmm….oh anything. Cookies for reviews!!


	50. Alliances

Hey people! Nearly the end of school! God I cant wait! School is so pointless right now!

Thanks for all the reviews, yes, I do know that I'm evil.

Aredhel- grins sorry.

Panther28- huh? Hermione was in the dorm, and then she saw Malfoy, and she ran after him.

All of you need to go read (AND REVIEW!) witchlight, becks89, shootingstar19(who actually updated!) and fanfic-frankie's stories!!

Ok, on with the story, and another crap title!

Chapter 50- Alliances

            Hermione said nothing, as she grappled with the disarmed deatheater. She managed to punch him, right in the face, slamming the heel of her hand up on his nose and knocking him backwards with a cry. Two other deatheaters, one on either side of her, raised their wands. She had hers out, pointing at one, but she couldn't do anything for she knew that when one fell, the other could kill her. It was a stale mate.

            "I see." Said the lead deatheater curiously. He looked at Malfoy, who had pulled himself up, and was standing once more, only a few feet from Hermione. The four remaining deatheaters (one wobbling slightly, with a very bloody nose) were surrounding the two sixth years. "So you couldn't complete your mission, but you lead the mudblood here, to us, instead?" The leader said to Draco. The boy's expression did not change in the slightest as he starred at the death eater, and then at Hermione, who looked back with startled eyes. They were all waiting for his answer. Each of them knew that Draco had just been given his way out. He would be forgiven, if he stood here and let them kill Granger instead. The deatheaters all knew Lucius Malfoy- they were giving his son a chance.

"Answer me!" The death eater snapped, "It's very simple, a yes or a no." he chuckled coldly, "Even a nod would suffice."

Draco looked between them again, before starring off into middle distance, not focussing on either of them. His eyes flickered to Hermione once. What was that? She thought, sorrow? Her heart clenched in fear as he ducked his head in a nod, and suddenly she understood.

            Hermione ducked as fast as she could, closing her eyes and covering her ears as the simultaneous cries of,

            "Avada Kedavra!" echoed out. Two jets of green light erupted from the wands, flying over the girl's head, and hitting the two stunned deatheaters. Draco spun, his heel connecting with the leaders masked face with a sickening thwack. The next movement disarmed the man, and then an elbow to the face knocked him out cold. Hermione was already back up, fighting with the bloody nosed deatheater.

            "Bugger off!" She yelled angrily, thrusting her knee quickly upwards, causing the deatheater to double over with a moan. She bought her elbow down on the back of his head, and he collapsed. The two teens starred at each other.

            "Makes sense." Draco said after a moment, "You're a swat in everything else, why not in Potter's class too?"

            "Shut up." Hermione snapped, but she only just stopped the smile of pride that tried to form. "Why?" She asked. Draco looked bewildered,

            "Why?"

            "Why didn't you let them kill me? It was your ticket, they gave you a second chance- now they'll want you dead as much as any of us." She said, almost angrily. He turned his eyes from her, and began walking round the circle of floored deatheaters, snapping their wands for good measure. Eventually he said,

            "Cos I tried to _kill_ you, Granger, and yet you came after me, and saved my life. Mudblood or not, that takes some doing."

            "And?" Hermione asked quietly.

            "You _always_ have to ask all the questions, don't you!?" He cried, but Hermione didn't quake, or reply. He looked furious, "And… If I let them do that, then sure, I'd get another chance, but to do what? Kill other people? Maybe it makes me weak, maybe it makes me a coward, but I cant do it!" He cried, "I tried, remember!? But I couldn't." He finished bitterly.

            "That's not a bad thing." Hermione said softly.

            "Speak for yourself." He snapped. Draco looked up into the sky, and around himself in the street, "…we should get outta here." He said more calmly. "They'll send more."

            "Yeah." Hermione sighed, and turned to begin walking.           

            "No." Draco said, "We need to go a whole lot quicker than that."

Hermione looked back at him, and she too felt the coldness on her skin, the presence of something very dark. Draco picked up his bag and broom, and set the broom in the air, so it hovered. He swung one leg over, and beckoned to her, "Come on."

Hermione gaped at him,

            "You have to be kidding."

            "No I'm bloody well not." He replied, "Now get the hell on before I change my mind!"

Hermione considered it for a second, before climbing onto the back of the broom, and awkwardly holding the back of Draco's robes. The boy rolled his eyes, and set off, fast. Hermione yelped, and wrapped her arms quickly around the Slytherin boy in front of her. They both heard the cracks as Deatheaters apparated nearby, but the broom sped out of the town too quickly for them to see anything. Within moments they were through the school gates and whizzing up the drive. They whipped past Harry and Ron, who were running full pelt down the drive. Draco kept going, but Hermione poked him in the ribs, crying,

            "Go back!"

He continued, and she poked harder, "Malfoy!"

Draco groaned, and reluctantly returned to the two confused Gryffindors, who both cried,

            "Hermione!"

And then Ron followed it up with,

            "Get the hell away from her you slimy git!" They all looked at him, and then Draco and Hermione looked at each other. She was sitting on his broom, rushing _towards_ the school, holding on to him- what did Ron think? That he was kidnapping her? Ron scowled, and Hermione shook her head,

            "I don't know what you two are doing down here, but you need to get back inside, quickly!"

            "But…"

            "Deatheaters in Hogsmeade, Weasel. Run, for fucks sake." Draco snapped, and started flying again.

            "You'll always be a total bastard, wont you?" Hermione spat.

            "Yes. Deal with it." Draco replied.

Harry and Ron began running back up the drive. Harry pulled out his wand, and yelled,

            "Accio Firebolt!" Mere seconds later, the broom arrived, doing a U turn to allow Harry and Ron to leap on, and follow the others at full speed.

            The two brooms sped straight through the front door, which opened before them thanks to Hermione's quick thinking. They set down in the entrance hall, and the four all looked at each other as they dismounted.

            "You attacked Hermione!" Ron cried angrily, breaking the silence.

            "Ron…" Hermione sighed.

            "So bloody what?" Draco snapped, "I saved her life just now!"

            "After I saved yours." Hermione added indignantly.

            "Why did you run off?" Harry asked Hermione.

            "Because I saw him leaving the school." She replied.

            "And you wanted to bring him in!" Ron said triumphantly.

            "No, I wanted to stop him from getting himself killed."

            "Why?" Ron asked genuinely.

            "Ron! I…"

            "What on _Earth_ is going on!?" Professor McGonogall cried, hurrying down the marble steps.

            "Professor…" Harry began.

            "What are you lot doing?" She snapped, cutting him off. "It is far too late for you all to be out, and definitely too late for me to see a broomstick flying past my nose all on its own!"

Harry winced,

            "We needed the fast transportation, professor…" He tried again.

            "Minerva!" Dumbledore called, also descending the stairs, "What is this?"

            "I don't know, headmaster. The four of them have been doing…" She trailed of, counting round again, and gaping. Yes, there were four of them, not three, and the fourth was not Longbottom, or another Weasley, but Malfoy.

            "There are deatheaters in Hogsmeade, Sir." Hermione piped up.

            "And you would know this how?" McGonogall said exasperatedly. Hermione glanced at Draco, but said nothing. He stared at her for a moment, in complete wonder. All she had to say was the truth; that she had followed him, and it would instantly be he that was in the wrong more than any… so why did she not say it? He found himself frowning, and then, even more bizarrely, found himself saying,

            "Because of me." Everyone gaped. "I… after I… I attacked Granger… I knew I would be in a lot of trouble, so I left. I went down to Hogsmeade… but _they_ turned up, saying that _he_ was angry, and I had failed… which I already knew. Granger followed me… she saved me." Then he added, "And I suppose those two came after her."

McGonogall's gaze shifted back to Hermione, while Dumbledore watched with interest.

            "You saved him from a group of deatheaters?" She repeated disbelievingly. Hermione swallowed, and said,

            "They were torturing him. They were distracted… I knocked two of them out with manoeuvres Buffy taught us before they even realised who I was. The rest was luck."

Draco snorted.

            "Yeah, very lucky your fist was so hard when it hit that guys face." He said. Neither Harry nor Dumbledore missed the spark of respect in the comment.

            "Well you're the one who kicked the leader's face in!" Hermione added, "_And_ you gave me the time to duck out of the way of the curses."

            "The curses?" Dumbledore asked, stiffening.

            "They tried to kill her, because I couldn't." Draco said, not sparing himself in the slightest, which shocked him as much as anyone else. "Two of them used the killing curse, aimed at Granger, but she ducked, and… well… they hit each other."

            "Wait, wait…" McGonogall said, "How many were there?"

            "Six, professor." Hermione replied.

            "So you are saying that the two of you took down six deatheaters on your own?"

The two looked at each other, and shrugged,

            "Yes."

            "Guess Buffy's sessions _did_ come in handy." Harry said with a grin.

            "But if you took them down, why did you need speed?"

            "Because more were apparating in as we left." Hermione explained.

McGonogall looked sharply at Dumbledore, who shook his head,

            "They will not come within the school grounds." He said. "They will probably retrieve their casualties and return to Voldemort."

The four teens said nothing. Dumbledore looked them over, his eyes resting on Draco, who looked down, unable to meet the headmaster's gaze. "Mr. Malfoy." He said, "We need to talk about your unacceptable behaviour earlier today."

            "I know sir." Draco murmured, "I've already packed, if that's…"

            "You are not expelled." Dumbledore cut him off. McGonogall and Ron gasped in outrage. Harry's brow creased in interest. Hermione looked a little happier, and Draco's head snapped up,     

            "I'm not?"

            "No. But _all_ your post, in and out, will be monitored. You will _not_ use fireplaces to contact anyone. I am putting you on report- all the teachers will give me a report on your behaviour each week. _And_ I am taking one hundred points from Slytherin for your actions."

Draco did not argue. In fact he was waiting for the ban on quidditch… which didn't come. He stayed silent. "Now." He added, "While we're on that subject, each of you shall lose five points for being out of bed after curfew, and… _and_" He repeated over their groans, "Miss Granger, and Mr. Malfoy, you _gain_ twenty five points each for an incredible display of bravery in front of odds that most full grown wizards would run from."

Hermione's jaw actually dropped. With the lost points, the gain was only 10, but she felt a swell of pride never the less. Draco found he had in total _lost _80 points for his house, but considering the circumstances, he too felt rather pleased.

"Now all of you must return to your beds." Dumbledore ordered. "Mr. Malfoy, we will have our talk tomorrow morning- eight O'clock sharp in my office."   

            "Yes sir." Draco said, and the small group split and headed in their respective directions.

            "Are you ok?" Ron asked as they walked, putting his arm around Hermione's shoulders. She leant in to him,

            "I'm fine." She replied, "Really. Malfoy actually helped me."

            "When you went to save his ass." Harry put in.

            "Yeah…" Hermione sighed, "But before that even… he knew that this is what not killing me would get him- a death sentence of his very own, and still he couldn't do it. I don't think he's as bad as he seems."

            "Whoa, whoa, Hermione, are you under a confundus charm or something?" Ron cried, "This is _Malfoy_. Y'know, little git, slags you off at every opportunity…"

            "I know, Ron!" She cried, "I know that… but… that's him being what he's bought up to be, and I know that he's a total dick, but when it came down to it, when he had the choice of become a murderer or _be_ murdered, He chose the latter."

The words hit Harry like a tonne of rocks. Hermione thought that was right, that that was the courageous thing to do. Was his situation any different? She was continuing, "I mean, they actually gave him the choice down there. They all had their wands pointed at me, and they asked Malfoy if this was him delivering me to them- they gave him a way out, if only he would stand there and let them kill me, and finally join them. And _he_ _didn't take it_. He knew that after that he would be expected to take the lives of innocents, and he wouldn't."

_Innocents_. Harry thought, maybe that was the difference. Killing Voldemort in self-defence, or even world defence… surely that was different. It had been a while since Harry had let himself get bog down in thoughts of the prophecy. Since he'd been with Buffy, she had allowed him to get on with life with the knowledge that he would never be alone in his fight. But now… well, in truth, Harry got the feeling that the fight had finally truly started.

---------

Dun dun duuuuunnn!!

grins

Please review!!


	51. Doing things the muggle way

Woohoo, last day of school tomorrow! (yes, I am still at school due to mean English school system. pouts) And tomorrow I also go off on an A-level Biology field trip for a week, so I wont be able to update until at least Wednesday/Thursday of next week.

BlackCat200- I'm reading the story!! Cant remember if I reviewed or not, but I like!

FallenStar2- what do you mean about what they did to Faith's character in S7?? You do know that there was a WHOLE thing in Angel about her hating herself and wanting redemption and turning herself in to the cops, right?

Aredhel- grins

Panther28- Sequel!? Lord knows- gotta finish this one first!!

Tigerlily Padfoot- Yeh, you Americans get wicked long summer holiday, we English people don't. We get about 7/8 weeks.

Y'know, it's really awkward that half of you are saying, yey, Faith stuff, and the other half are warning me off over-faithifying the story! Argh. Oh well, I'll deal.

AND, I swear to you that Draco will not become a fluffy bunny type! I promise!! At the mo he's looking to be more Spike styley- good-ish but still bad too… you know what I mean!

So here is a nice long chappy for you. Some of it is a little iffy, but meh, the cool bits make up for it…. I hope….

Argh, and again with the chapter title…. I need a little handbook of 'chapter titles for all occasions'!! Hmm…

Chapter 51- Doing things the muggle way 

Buffy yawned. She and Faith had been up most of the night checking the school grounds, ensuring that Voldemort's forces truly hadn't penetrated the school. Now she was standing with Dumbledore, Lupin, Harry, and the Sunnydale crew in her room, and Dumbledore was handing over the port key, which would take them all back to Sunnydale. Buffy hugged Willow tight,

"Take care of yourself." She said.

"Will do. You too… and don't forget to call if you need anything." Willow replied.

"Course I wont. You too."

She hugged Xander, and wondered why he seemed strangely subdued.

Lupin and Oz shook hands firmly- they had spent quite a lot of time together, talking, and sharing their experiences as werewolves. Lupin had given Oz the recipe for the wolfsbane potion, and they both got the feeling that this was to be a long-term acquaintance.

Buffy and Harry finished saying their good byes, and it was then Harry who said,

"Where's Faith? I thought she was coming to say goodbye?"

Buffy shrugged,

"I don't know. I thought she was too. She didn't say anything last night…"

"Well we have waited long enough." Giles said, not coldly, "And doesn't this thing go off any moment?"

"Yes, you have one minute." Dumbledore reminded them. The scoobies all got hold of the portkey and any other luggage, and waited. Xander was facing the doorway. As he stood there, saying final farewells, and forcing jokes for Harry, he looked up at the door, and saw that the portrait was now open. Faith was standing at the edge of the doorway, leaning against the frame from the outside. She didn't smile, or wave, or call out, but just stood there, her eyes locked with his own. Xander felt a wrench, only moments before the familiar feeling of the portkey whipped him away.

When Buffy turned to see what Xander had been looking at, the door was closed, and no one was there.

"Missed you this morning." Buffy said as she entered the training room at lunch. Faith was pummelling the punch bag.

"This morning?" She asked unconvincingly.

"When the guys left. They wondered where you were."

Faith chuckled bitterly,

"Sure they did. Cos they all love me so much."

"Don't be silly." Buffy scolded, "Are you ok?"

"Five by five." Faith snapped.

"Cos that means _so_ much." Buffy said dryly.

"I'm fine, B, really." Faith said, kicking the bag so hard that the bindings buckled. Buffy frowned, and came forward, grabbing the bag on its next swing. "What?" Faith snapped.

"Just what I was gonna ask. What's wrong?"

"Nothin'. Really."

"So, what, the bag insulted you?"

Faith gave her a withering look.

"Just lettin' off steam, what's wrong with that?" Faith replied. Buffy starred at her for a moment, trying to catch a glimpse of what it was that was getting at Faith, but the other slayer revealed nothing in her eyes. Buffy sighed,

"Hey, I never asked- did you make the team?"

Faith smirked,

"What do you think?"

"Wicked!" Buffy cried, "So, beater or chaser?"

"Chaser." Faith replied, "I think they were worried to might knock their heads off if I was beater."

Buffy laughed,

"Sure as hell would scare me." She said. Faith chuckled lightly, and sat down, taking a swig of water from a glass at the side,

"You seen Hermione?"

"Nope, but Harry said she's fine."

"Good." Faith replied.

"What about Malfoy?" Buffy asked. Faith winced,

"He's… ok. I think he feels kinda shitty. I'm not sure what's eating him more, the fact that he nearly killed a girl, or the fact that he then put his ass on the line to save her."

"Not the hero type then?" Buffy smiled.

"Hell no… but underneath it all he's basically a good kid."

"He's a shit, Faith."

"Yeah, but he's ok."

Buffy laughed quietly, and Faith grinned, "And he has a total crush on you."

The blonde rolled her eyes,

"I'm never getting past that, am I?"

"Nope."

At lunch, Draco Malfoy sat in a corner of the Slytherin common room with his potions textbook, trying to read over the three chapters Snape had set for homework… but none of it was going in. He had talked to Dumbledore, and told him _everything_ he knew about the death eaters-what choice did he have? In truth in wasn't much, Draco had only got a letter. So why couldn't he concentrate? He snorted a laugh to himself- that was obvious, simple even. He was a dead man. He had betrayed Voldemort, and no one did that and lived to tell of it. Stupid mudblood Granger. He had decided it was all her fault. He didn't stop to work out _how_ the hell it was her fault, but it definitely was. As he sat there, he found a shadow looming over him, and looked up to see Crabbe and Goyle standing before him, and noticed that the rest of the room was ominously empty.

"What do you two want?" He snapped, injecting as much spite into it as possible.

"We've heard that you were called to aid the dark lord." Goyle grunted. Draco almost laughed at hearing Goyle say 'aid' but in this situation, he found that he couldn't.

"Yeah, and that you didn't do so well." Crabbe added.

"Well you know Granger and her super buddies…" Draco began, but was cut off when the book was knocked from his hand. Draco swallowed, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Just telling you Malfoy, y'know, since you're our friend an' all. The dark lord 'int too please with you."

"Oh really?" He drawled sarcastically.

"No. He even had to ask someone else to do the job." Crabbe sneered. Malfoy's eyes widened,

"What, you two?" He exclaimed.

"Don't look all jealous, Malfoy, you had your chance." The two hulking boys headed for the door. In a split second decision, Malfoy ran to intercept them,

"You really don't want to do that." He said.

"Think again."

"Get outta our way."

"No. You can't." Malfoy said, realising that his argument might be a little weak. Crabbe shoved him back,

"Move!"

"No!" Malfoy snapped. He had beaten off Deatheaters- he wouldn't give in to Crabbe and Goyle. But then again… the death eaters hadn't been quite as _big_ as Crabbe and Goyle. He ducked the first fist, but with two of them and one of him, the painful crack to his jaw was only inevitable. While he stumbled, Goyle kneed him in the stomach, and pushed him over. Aching all over, Malfoy leapt up, grabbing Crabbe's arm and pulling him back,

"You want more?" The huge boy asked. In answer, Draco pulled back his fist, and did a great impression of someone attempting to imbed his knuckles in the other boy's face. Crabbe howled in pain, and Goyle turned back angrily. Malfoy dodged him, and ran for the portrait hole.

Hermione walked along the shelves of books, looking for the right one. She was taking her time- she knew it would immensely irritate Ron, but he and Harry were the ones who insisted on escorting her to the library- she didn't _ask_ for it. Suddenly, she heard pounding footsteps, and turned to see Draco Malfoy, blood at his mouth and eyes wide, running towards her. She grimaced.

"Gotta go, get out, now." Malfoy gabbled.

"Excuse me?"

"Crabbe and Goyle!" He snapped angrily, "They're coming. You have to go, now!" He grabbed her arm, trying to drag her out, but she beat him off with the book in her hands,

"Get off me!" She cried, "I don't know _what_ you're talking about!"

"I thought you were meant to be the smart one!" Malfoy said accusingly. "They've been sent to do what I couldn't. You have to get to Dumbledore- I can't stop them!"

Hermione gaped at him, looking over his bloody jaw and the painful way he stood.

"They did that when you tried." She said incredulously.

"Well done. Nobel prize. Now let's go!" He insisted. By now Ron and Harry had heard the commotion, and came running.

"Oi Malfoy!" Hermione heard, and Draco turned. Even as Hermione cried,

"Ron, no!" His fist hit Malfoy's face.

"_Bloody hell!_" Malfoy cried, "You little git!"

"Get away from Hermione!" Ron wailed, raising his fist, but Hermione threw herself at him, holding his hand down,

"No! No! Ron!" She yelled, "He was warning me! Get… stop!"

Ron scowled,

"Warning you about what?"

"That." Hermione said weakly, pointing at Crabbe and Goyle, who had just marched in, wands out, not even caring that the library was full of people.

"No." Hermione heard Malfoy snarl. He pushed Ron aside, as all the red head could seem to do was gape, and stood before Hermione, drawing his wand. "Get away." He snapped.

"I'll second that." Harry added, standing side by side with Malfoy. Now _that _almost made Hermione faint. Ron looked a bit confused, before joining them, saying,

"Me too."

Hermione had drawn her own wand, but didn't step forward- she was still staring. The librarian was screeching, telling them to put their wands away at once, but she was ignored.

"Get out of the way." Crabbe growled.

"Somehow I think not." Malfoy replied.

"…Yeah." Ron added, annoyed that it was Malfoy who was clearly in charge.

"Fine then." Goyle said, raising his wand. As his lips formed the words of whatever curse he planned to use, Harry said,

"Expelliamus!" and caught his wand easily. Ron, happy for something he could do, repeated the incantation to disarm Crabbe. They looked annoyed.

"We'll do it the muggle way then!" They snapped, and ran at the foursome. All three boys dropped into fighting stance. Hermione almost laughed- who the heck would have though they'd ever see this? Harry Ron and Malfoy in alliance. However fun this might be to watch, she knew it could get rather ugly, so she cried,

"Stupefy! Impedimenta!" Knocking both attackers down. The three boys looked angrily over their shoulders.

"Oi!"

"No fair!"

"What d'you do that for?"

"We would've battered them!"

"You're not meant to do that!"

She wasn't sure who said what, but her only reply was to laugh out loud, which, of course, annoyed them more. For the second time in the last two days, the group heard McGonogall's cry of,

"What on Earth is going on!?"

And all four cringed. McGonogall looked from the two unconscious Slytherins to the unlikely foursome, to Malfoy's bloody face, and the drawn wands, seeming unable to come up with anything bad enough to say to encompass it all. The four burst into explanations, all at once, all very quickly. "Enough!" McGongall bellowed, "Madame Prince, what happened?" She asked the librarian. Madame Prince looked petrified. She came forward, eyes wide, and began,

"I saw him [she pointed at Malfoy] _run_ in here with blood everywhere, and accost _her_. [she pointed at Hermione] Then that one attacked him, and she stopped him, and then they appeared, and ran at them, and the three of them disarmed them, and _then_ that one attacked them!"

McGonogall looked at her blankly, rolled her eyes, and looked to the library in general,

"Anyone else see what happened?"

"Yes." Said Amity, who had watched the whole thing with cool amusement. McGonogall looked at the Slytherin girl, and wondered how biased the account would be, but never the less, asked her to speak. "Malfoy ran in here, and started talking to Granger, and grabbed her arm. Weasley punched him… in defence of Granger, I guess. Then Crabbe and Goyle arrived, wands drawn, and told Potter Weasley and Malfoy to get out of the way, as they stood in front of Granger… then Granger knocked them flat and stopped a brawl." She looked a little disappointed.

"They attacked you?" McGonogall asked them shakily.

"They were going to." Harry said.

"Er, 'scuse me." Malfoy said indignantly, "Already _did_ attack me."

McGonogall looked utterly shell shocked.

"Malfoy go to the hospital wing." She said.

"He shouldn't go alone." Hermione said quickly.

"No… no… perhaps you should go with him. Potter, Weasley, get the Headmaster."

"But…!" Ron exclaimed. Hermione touched his arm gently, silently telling him to comply. She kissed him on the cheek, and turned to Malfoy,

"Come on."

They walked down the corridor in awkward silence. Now and then Malfoy would dab at his bleeding nose. Eventually, he said,

"Weasley has a nasty right hook." And Hermione laughed, wincing,

"Are you ok?"

"Fine." He replied, bristling.

"Why did you let them do that?" She asked, referring to Crabbe and Goyle.

"'Let' isn't exactly the word I'd use."

"You know what I mean."

"They would have killed you if they got the chance." He said.

"I guess a conscience requires a brain." Hermione quipped.

"Yeah." Malfoy chuckled.

"But still." Hermione continued, "Why would you care? Not wanting to kill someone is one thing, but why would you care if _they_ did it? You hate me."

"Doesn't mean I want you dead." Malfoy replied without looking at her. Hermione frowned sideways at him, but had nothing more to say. He could feel her gaze burning into the side of his face, but he tried to ignore her. "I knew." He said suddenly, "Therefore it'd be on me if I didn't even try."

"Well who went and got all good Samaritan all of a sudden." Hermione smiled, "Ok, who are you and what did you do with Malfoy?"

"Shut up Granger." He said dryly. She grinned.

"We shall have to control all communications in and out of the school." Dumbledore said, "Mr Crabbe and Mr Goyle must be watched at _all_ times… I had hoped it would not come to this."

"Well it did." Buffy said simply. "Voldemort is enlisting students… anyone could be targeted."

"That is a question." McGonogall put in, "Why are they so intent on harming Granger?"

"Because she's close to Harry." Buffy replied.

"So is Weasley."

"But he's pure blood." Faith said, "Which doesn't exactly go with the big V's campaign."

"Then why not you, his sister?" McGonogall suggested.

"Because Voldemort knows that killing a slayer ain't that easy." Faith replied. "He _can't_ get anyone else to kill Harry; Buffy would cream his ass, and Ron is pureblood… so it has to be Hermione."

"Yes." Dumbledore sighed, "It is logical."

"What's bothering me is… Draco screwed up his one assignment, right? And he's now marked… but _you_ did a whole lot worse… and he hasn't come after you yet." Buffy said to Faith, who smiled wryly,

"Been thinkin' that myself. Makes me wonder if he hasn't got something special planned."

"We must be on alert." Dumbledore said tiredly. "I had hoped Voldemort would not choose my school as his battle ground."

"One thing's for sure." Buffy said, "If he sends anyone else in, they are getting battered badly."

"I'll second that." Faith added.

"A dark time is ahead." Dumbledore said solemnly.

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Dum dum dum....!

Please review!!


	52. Fear Itself

Heya people, sorry for the slow update, I was on a biology field trip in Wales for a week. Lotsa rain, lotsa barnacles, and not a lot else. Was still fun though…

Anyway, tomorrow I'm going to Cephalonia for two weeks, so I'm not gonna be able to update until then- very sorry.

TigerLilyPadfoot- jaw drops You've never watched Buffy?? splutters in disbelief how?? Ok… breathing now… I'm actually pretty flattered that you bother to read this when you've never watched Buffy, so thanks. Faith is the coolest character, like, EVA. She's a slayer, who was called after Kendra died, and Kendra was called when buffy drowned and got revived by Xander. Faith accidently killed a man, and couldn't deal, so she basically freaked and joined the bad guys, and killed quite a few people. Buffy stabbed her, and put her in a coma, and the rest is in the story! (or my version anyway) Hope that helps!

Angel of Slytherin- Nope, I go to a private school, I guess we just broke up late!

On with the story!

Chapter 52-Fear Itself

            Over the next few weeks, Hogwarts and its residents did everything they could to keep the routine normal. There were no more attacks, which of course made it easier, but Crabbe and Goyle gave Malfoy a hard time at every possible moment. Hermione found that she suddenly had a personal guard, as everywhere she went either Harry, Ron or Draco would go with her. Of course the latter was strongly denied by both parties, and conversation between them was no nicer. The DA got back into full swing, many new members joining the moment they heard of it, and all the students that had opted not to take Buffy's classes quickly changed their mind once news of what had happened in the library got around (which didn't take long). Fred and George were still hanging around, and helping to train the Gryffindor beaters who had been chosen in the tryouts- Jodie and Jessica Frith, twins who had just moved up into second year, and who despite their constant arguing were a deadly combination once they had bats in their hands. Buffy and Faith did nightly patrols, and found that the number of vampires and demons sticking around in the area despite the arrival of two slayers was worryingly large. Everybody could feel that they were on the brink of something huge, and a small group of students and teachers knew that it would largely be up to them to stop it.

            The day of Halloween, the student body was filled with excitement for the up coming feast. The Weasley twins declared happily that they weren't eating all day in order to save themselves for the feast. At breakfast, Dumbledore beckoned to both slayers, and they joined him in his office after the meal.

            "We have had trouble on Halloween in the past." He was saying, "But I have heard that the demon populace tend to stay away on all hallos eve?"

            "Er, Yah. That's the theory." Buffy said with a smirk, "But the bad guys don't always play by the rules." She leant over to Faith, "Remind me not to put on anything to girly tonight, k?"

            "Okay…." Faith replied with a frown.

            "You _have_ heard the Halloween costume story?" Buffy gasped in disbelief.

            "Nope. Guess you missed that one."

            "Oh, much badness. Me dressed as an eighteenth century gal, Will as a ghost, Xander as a soldier, and Ethan Rayne did a spell to make people turn into their costumes." Buffy summarised.

            "Xander turned into a soldier?" Faith asked with interest, and a dodgy grin. Buffy rolled her eyes,

            "Down Faith." She snapped mockingly. Faith stuck out her tongue, and Dumbledore cleared his throat loudly,

            "So… you have had demon activity on Halloween?"

            "Yes… well Ethan's not a demon, but he unleashed…" Buffy trailed off, "Yes."

            "Then we must be on guard. The feast would be a perfect time for an attack, and…"

            "Yeah, we get it." Buffy cut him off. "Done party patrolling before… way too many times. Senior prom? Hell hounds."

Dumbledore chuckled,

            "Alright then- I can count on the two of you?"

            "You really need to ask?" Buffy said in reply.

            So at the feast that evening, though no one could have known it, both slayers were armed to the teeth. The Great Hall was decked out with huge pumpkins, thousands of live bats swooping around. Harry grinned at Buffy's open-mouthed reaction, and the Gryffindor group tucked into the incredible feast. At regular intervals, Faith and Buffy alternately left the hall to take a quick sweep of the grounds, and neither came up against anything. They both knew that that should have been a _good_ thing… but the two slayers found an un-easy feeling settling in their stomachs. As they passed each other at about ten o'clock, Faith returning and Buffy on her way out, Faith said,

            "B…" But didn't need to finish,

            "Something's gonna happen." Buffy said, nodding. "I feel it too."

            "You think the big-V is gonna attack?"

Buffy frowned,

            "I don't know… it doesn't quite feel like that…" She sighed in frustration, "I don't know. I'll do my sweep. Keep your eyes open."

            "Of course."

Buffy headed for the door, but as she raised her hand to push it, the huge door melted into the wall, a solid layer of stone taking its place.

            "What the f…?" Buffy gasped. "Faith!"

            "S'up?" Faith asked, sticking her head back out of the hall. Buffy pointed. "Whoa." As they looked around, seeing windows similarly bricking themselves up, they heard yells from the hall. The two slayers raced back in, only to see that all the windows within were also covering themselves over. "I'm gonna hazard a guess an' say that's _not_ good." Faith commented.

            "Y'think?" Buffy snapped. Suddenly, a fourth year girl screamed. Buffy and Faith both ran to her, two see that her plate was covered in bugs, slugs and worms, and she had leapt off the seat, swiping at them and screaming her lungs out.

            "What the hell?"

Another scream, and another, as rats, frogs, insects and all manner of creatures appeared from nowhere. Ron leapt up as spiders materialised before him. The bats dive-bombed a sixth year girl, and the slayers had no clue what they were meant to do.

            "Buffy? What _is_ this?"

            "I have _no_ idea."

            "Buffy!" Harry cried, rushing to her side, "What's…"

            "I don't know!"

            "Ron is terrified of spiders, Padma Patel hates bats… its like peoples worst fears are manifesting."

            "What… like bogarts?"

            "I guess… I don't know exactly…" Harry shook his head, starring around at the chaos.

            "Buffy…" Faith suddenly gasped. The Potter siblings looked to the brunette slayer, who had gone deathly pale. She was looking wide-eyed at her hands, which were dripping with blood. "I… I didn't…" Faith rambled.

            "I know… Faith, you have to fight it- it's not real." Buffy said, trying to stay calm. Faith shook her head, gaping over Buffy's shoulder,

            "No…" She breathed. Buffy spun, to see an elderly man with a kind face, and a knife in his gut. He was stumbling towards Faith, asking,

            "Why?"

Faith backed up quickly, but slipped in a pool of blood.

            "Faith!" Buffy snapped, "Please! Listen to me!"

            "No, no…" Faith murmured, shuffling back across the insect covered floor.

            "Shit!" Harry suddenly cried. Buffy turned to him instead, to see a swarm of dementors swooping into the hall.

            "Harry, just fight them!" Buffy cried. Harry pulled out his wand, and yelled,

            "Expecto patronum!" And the gigantic stag erupted from the wand, charging down the dementors with ease. Harry looked to Buffy worriedly, "Buffy, what's your worst fear?"

            "Don't worry about it." Buffy replied.

            "But Buffy…"

            "You don't need to worry, because it's not happening."

            "How can you just…"

            "Power of positive thinking." Buffy replied, "It's not gonna manifest cos I know it cant happen. I know it's not gonna happen, so it wont." She smiled at her younger brother, and squeezed his arm, "Just stay with me, ok? Don't you leave my sight, alright?"

Harry nodded, and turned to look for Hermione and Ron, but they were gone, as were most of the students. Dumbledore had just reached the Potter siblings, as Buffy crouched beside Faith,

            "It's ok." She tried to sooth, reaching out to touch Faith's arm.

            "No!" Faith cried, pulling away, "Get away from me!" She was up in a second, and running, past the remaining students and out of the great hall.

            "We have to stop this!" Buffy said exasperatedly to Dumbledore.

            "Of course… but I wish we knew what it was."

            "Something is making fears manifest- a spell maybe?"  Buffy suddenly had an idea, "Harry- do you have your map?"

            "Yeah." Harry replied, pulling the marauders map from his pocket. "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good." He said, touching the map with his wand and watching as the map of Hogwarts spread before them.

            "The kids all ran out of here, chased by their fears- see where they went." Buffy told him. Dumbledore didn't comment on the map as they searched the floors, finally finding that a huge number of students were in the corridor near Moaning Myrtle's toilet- there was no more space in the actual room. "Something tells me that might be where we get our answers." Buffy said.

            "Then let's go." Dumbledore said.

            "Wait… there are no other teachers?"

            "No, I'm afraid not. Remus began to change despite the fact that it is not a full moon, Minerva followed students to try to help… everyone left rather rapidly."

            "Fine. Then it's just us." Buffy said. She reached into her jacket and pulled out a short sword with a gleaming edge, "Let's go find out what's up."

            As they marched through the corridors, now and then passing a cowering student who fled the moment they got close, Buffy couldn't help but feel Dumbledore's uneasiness.

            "You alright?" She asked him.

            "Fine, thank you." He replied.

            "What's your fear?" Harry asked, sensing the same that Buffy did.

            "It is unimportant. It will not come to pass if I believe it cannot." He said, though Harry felt he didn't sound half as certain as Buffy had.

            "Well just keep believing it." She snapped. Buffy had a horrible feeling that she knew what Dumbledore feared. As they approached the bathroom, all three could feel the power emanating from the room, and the fears grabbing at them, but each did their best to ignore it. Harry found that as he knew he could defeat his fear, it didn't bother him anymore. Buffy, as she had said, knew she would never allow it to happen, and Dumbledore… though he was convinced of the same, had seen too much loss in his time to know for sure…

            Just as the crowd of students came into view, Harry suddenly gasped,

            "Buffy…" As his knees gave way.

            "Harry!" She caught him, supporting him as he went limp, barely able to keep his eyes open. His face was burning hot. "No… Buffy gasped, "But I didn't…" She looked up at Dumbledore, who was watching in horror. "Dumbledore!" Buffy snapped, "No! Fight it! Please!"

Dumbledore starred as he saw Harry weaken before his very eyes- the boy he had tried so hard to protect. He had fought, he had risked everything… had he failed?

            "Please!" Buffy cried. Dumbledore shook his head briefly, trying to dispel the thoughts, but once they were out, it was not possible to quash them. So Buffy picked Harry up, and forged through the group to the bathroom, Dumbledore trailing behind, feeling weaker than he had for many years. Strangely there were no more bugs or bats here, just students curled up in corners, some even rocking back and forth, and in the centre of the floor was a huge pentagram, which was glowing.

            "Great." Buffy murmured. She lay Harry to one side, praying that breaking the spell would break whatever ailed him too. She and a very pale Dumbledore cast around for anything that might tell them the nature of the symbol.

            "Aha! Here." Dumbledore declared. On the floor in one of the stalls was a large book, conveniently open the page with the symbol on.

            "What is it?" Harry asked weakly, sitting up.

            "Harry! Are you…?"

            "I'm ok." He replied. She touched his forehead and found that the fever had dissipated, just like that. "I think… whatever this thing is, it scared everyone, to bring us… here."

            "Got that." Buffy murmured, "Which means, since everyone _is_ here, we should probably deal pretty…"

_RELEASE ME! _A rumbling voice ordered, though they could see nothing. _RELEASE ME!_

            "That is definitely not of the good." Buffy commented, "Dumbledore, please give me something to work with."

            "It's a fear demon, Gachnar." Dumbledore said, "Look." He showed Buffy a picture in the book.

            "Ok, gross. I'm saying that appearing in here is a bad thing." Buffy replied.

            "Quite… ah.. 'The summoning spell for Gachnar can be shut down in one of two ways. Destroying the mark of Gachnar…"

            "Easy." Buffy commented. She pulled out her wand, pointed it at the pentagram, and cried, "Scourgify!" And the mark disappeared. "All done."

            "…Is NOT one of them and will in fact immediately bring forth the fear demon itself!" Dumbledore finished.

            "Oops." Buffy said, making a face. They watched as the area of floor began to shine with bright white light. The rumbling voice gave out a booming laugh, and Buffy gulped. When the light receded, she raised an eyebrow, "You have _got_ to be kidding me."

The demon was less than half a foot tall, looking up at them with a triumphant grin,

            "Bow down before your master!" The tiny demon bellowed.

            "Or not." Harry replied.

            "What the hell is that?" Asked another voice.

            "Ron!" Harry exclaimed.

            "Demon that did all this." Buffy replied.

            "Whoa. Big overture, _little_ show." Ron commented with a grin.

            "Why do you not bow!?" The demon cried.

            "Oh shut up." Buffy snapped, and stamped on him with a satisfying squelch. Around them, students started to look up, frowning, and realising that what they feared had gone already.

            "That was… interesting." Harry commented.

Suddenly, Dumbledore began to laugh, still looking at the book.

            "What?" Buffy asked, a little irritated.

            "The inscription beneath the picture- it reads, 'actual size.'" Dumbledore continued to laugh, while Buffy just chuckled and shook her head. But looking around, there was someone missing- she frowned,

            "Harry, can I see the map?" Buffy took it from her brother, and searched the crowd of little green dots. She wasn't there. Buffy searched until she found a lone dot on the astronomy tower. "Go back to the common room." Buffy told Harry, "I'll be there in a minute." Then she pushed her way through the crowd and out of the room. Harry looked down at the map- the dot read 'Faith'.

            When Buffy emerged on the top of the tower, she saw her sister slayer sitting on the battlements, looking out over the grounds with her feet hanging out over the edge.

            "Faith?" She said cautiously. She walked to her side, and Faith turned to her, not even attempting to hide the tears that stained her cheeks. "You ok?" Buffy asked. In answer, Faith said,

            "I was actually standing on the edge when the spell broke- it was a spell, right?"

            "Demon." Buffy replied, sitting beside her.

            "It was like I just woke up- the blood was gone, the ghosts, or whatever they were, were gone, and I was just standing here… it woulda been so easy- one more step."

            "Faith…"

            "Na, B. Don't. I didn't do it, did I? I'm not gonna… I just… every day I see them in my head."

            "I know."

            "An' everyday I wish they'd go away, while knowing they never will."

            "It's ok." Buffy said.

            "What part of it is ok?" Faith snapped, "I killed 'em, B! how is that ok?"

            "Because you hate that you did it. You regret it, and you're trying to make amends." Buffy replied simply. "I'm willing to bet that Hermione would be dead now if you hadn't spoken to Malfoy."

            "I didn't…"

            "Yes you did. I know you did- that's why you chose Slytherin."

            "He didn't have it in him to kill someone." Faith said.

            "But maybe he hadn't considered that until then. I don't think he ever saw there was any point in doing what his insides told him, Faith…"

            "I barely said anything."

            "That's sorta my point." Buffy replied with a half grin. Faith shook her head, and rolled her eyes,

            "You and your save the world buddies, always looking for the good in people."

            "Its what we do- its what you do." Buffy reminded her. She leant her head on Faith's shoulder, "It's what friends do." She finished. For a moment, Faith couldn't speak, then she smiled,

            "Yeah." She replied.

-------

I know that wasn't exactly how it actually worked, and I know I had Ron steal Xander's line, but hey, artistic license and all.

Please review!!


	53. Talking

Heya guys! I'm back from my holiday in Cefalonia (AngelofSlytherin- It's a Greek island) and it was totally wicked. Thanks for the reviews, and on that note, this might sound odd, but I've noticed my number of reviews each chapter majorly falling, and I wonder if that's just cos people got bored of reviewing all the time, or if less people are reading my story- if it's the latter, I'd really appreciate some constructive criticism to tell me where I'm going wrong! Thanks.

Lightdemondarkangel- if you've read any of my other stuff, you will know that I love Faith far too much- the chances of me killing her off are very small… unless of course I did it very spectacularly and all that… but yeah, I wasn't gonna have gachnar get Faith to jump!

Angel of Slytherin- I go to NLCS (North London Collegiate)

Lostangel92- Well done you- you're the only person who guessed her fear and got it right.

So, as you've all been so patient, waiting for two whole weeks, I'll get on and give you the chapter!!

Chapter 53-Talking 

The following day, the school was buzzing with stories of the horrors different students had face, and everyone gained much amusement from the fabricated defences almost everyone came up with. Fred and George were being very secretive about their experiences, which made Buffy all the more eager to find out what happened. Dumbledore and the teachers were desperately trying to find out who had made the pentagram and summoned the demon, and whether it was just messing around, or a serious attempt to incapacitate the residents of Hogwarts.

At lunchtime, Buffy went to see the headmaster, knocking on the door and receiving a tired,

"Enter."

She did so, and found Dumbledore sitting at his desk, looking as if he hadn't slept in months.

"Hi." Buffy greeted him.

"Miss Potter." He forced a smile, "What can I do for you?"

"Just wanted to talk." Buffy shrugged, "…are you ok?"

"Me? I am perfectly fine, my dear…"

"Cut the crap." Buffy snapped. She took a seat opposite him, and fixed him with a sincere gaze. "You freaked yesterday. It was only for a moment, but that demon affected you, and that effected Harry."

"I am terribly sorry for that, Miss Potter…"

"Buffy."

"Buffy… I have never experienced anything of that sort before, and though I tried, I could not control my fears."

"You're fear is that Harry will die." Buffy said simply.

"Yes." He replied, "And yours is the same. At first you thought it was your fear manifesting."

"Yes." Buffy sighed. "But it's _not_ gonna happen, not for a good long while at least. My brother is not getting killed."

"I hope not." Dumbledore replied, "For if he does, then Voldemort will be more powerful than we can imagine."

Buffy was a little angry now,  
"But it's _not_ gonna happen!" She snapped, "Stop saying you 'hope'- its that that let it in last night. Harry will _not_ die."

"You're dead, mate." Ron said with a grin. "Check."

"Oh bugger." Harry moaned. He starred at the chessboard, trying to figure a way out of it.

"You could just…" Hermione began over his shoulder.

"Sh!" Harry said.

"But you…"

"Sh!"

"Whatever." Hermione sighed. Harry finally moved a Knight, though tentatively. He held onto it for a moment, then let go. Ron was grinning widely when he took his move, and sat back happily, saying,

"Check mate."

"Bloody hell." Harry moaned as Ron's queen ran screaming at his king, and a chess war broke out across the board. "How many is that then?"

"Tonight or overall?" Ron teased.

"Shut up." Harry replied.

"Hey, Faithy." Fred said, sitting next to her.

"Hey." She replied with a vague smile, turning back to her potions essay. Fred shuddered,

"Potions."

"Oh yeah. Bastard totally hates me- says I need to write twice as much as everyone else to prove I'm doing the extra research I need."

"Dick." Fred commented.

"Total." She agreed. "Ooh- but have you done this one?" She showed him the title, and he shuddered again,

"I remember that one- and that's saying something."

"So you'll help?"

"Whoa, not a chance- I left school for a reason…"

"Because it was being taken over by an evil frog woman with a love of stupid rules, physical abuse and banning people from quidditch!" Faith argued,

"Yes, that, and homework." Fred retorted.

"Please?" Faith said with a flutter of her eyelashes and a slight pout. Fred whimpered,

"No… no no no. Potions… no!"

Faith grimaced,

"You suck." She snapped.

"Sorry?"

She ignored him. Fred rolled his eyes and pulled the textbook towards him with a deep sigh, "What do you have?" He asked reluctantly. Faith grinned widely, and began to explain.

That evening, while still well within curfew but unable to take yet another chess match, Hermione slipped out of the common room and headed for the library. Since she'd been attacked (twice) Hermione had rarely had a moment to herself, as Ron and Harry had insisted on sheparding her everywhere, and even Malfoy would escort her if the others were for some reason unable to, though he denied it, and always had some excuse for happening to be in the same corridors as her, often throwing in a few insults for good measure. It was a relief to be alone for a while, and she felt a lot happier getting some proper study done.

"Your body guards know you're here?" Asked an amused voice after she'd been there about half an hour. Hermione rolled her eyes,

"Malfoy." She said, without looking to him as he sat opposite her. He smirked. Hermione sighed, and eventually looked up, saying, "What do you…" But stopped short at the sight of a nasty bruise on his face. "What happened?" She asked.

"Oh… nothing. Bumped into something."

"Yeah, a fist shaped something." She replied witheringly. "They still all giving you hassle?"

"Yeah." He conceded. "Apparently I've gone soft."

Hermione snorted a laugh- the truth was that Draco Malfoy had never been as brave as he had been of late.

"Don't laugh at me, mudblood." He snapped. Hermione rolled her eyes, not in the least insulted.

"That line has pretty much lost it's impact." She told him. So now _he_ looked hurt.

"Maybe I really have gone soft." He said with disgust.

"Nonsense." Hermione scoffed, "Standing up to them like this… it's the bravest thing you could do."

"Bollocks." Draco laughed. "You haven't the foggiest, have you Granger? You think I've had an epiphany? That I'm a goody gumdrops now? Sorry to disappoint, but I still believe purebloods are better. I still can't stand muggles or mudbloods…"

"So why are you talking to me then?" Hermione interrupted. He gaped for a moment, before looking away.

"You're different." He murmured. Hermione swallowed, and managed to say,

"How am I different?"

"You just… are." Malfoy said in irritation. "I mean, you still annoy the crap out of me. You're still an insufferable, know-it-all _Griffindor_… but…"

"But?"

"But… I dunno… I guess… I guess you gained my respect is all." Draco finally admitted. "And that's more than I can say for a single one of my so-called friends."

Hermione was touched. The fact that this was Draco Malfoy, king of all gits, made the admittance so much greater- made the meaning so much more… meaningful.

"Thanks." She said.

"Whatever." He scoffed. Hermione chuckled, shaking her head- it seemed that Draco Malfoy would be a bastard for as long as humanly possible.

"Yesterday was bizarre." She commented, changing the subject.

"To say the least." He replied, not looking at her. "What happened to you? You get showered by bits of parchment with 'F' on them?"

Hermione smirked sarcastically at him,

"Oh aren't you the funny one. I suppose you started being civil to people?"

"Nope, I got surrounded by Grangers." He snapped back.

"I'm your worst fear? That really is pathetic."

"I was taking the piss, idiot!"

"_I'm_ an idiot?" She retorted, "This from Mr. 'I'm so bad I cant be friendly to anyone who's actually nice'!"

"If by that you mean _you_, I think you misunderstand! When in hell have you been friendly!?"

"Why _would _I be friendly to _you!?"_

"Would you please pipe down!?" Madame prince snapped in a loud whisper. Hermione flushed bright red,

"I'm sorry." She whispered in reply. Malfoy smirked, rolling his eyes,

"Goody goody." He teased under his breath.

"Git." She replied.

"Shouldn't you be getting back?"

"Shouldn't you?"

Malfoy chuckled hollowly,

"Ah, but you see, for me it's no less dangerous within my common room than it is outside."

"That's your own fault."

"Yeah, for helping you." He snapped.

"For which I'm grateful." Hermione replied genuinely, stopping Malfoy in his tracks, totally bewildered, without the slightest clue of what to say. "Traditionally you say 'your welcome'." Hermione offered grinning. Draco still stayed silent, before eventually looking up at her, and nodding,

"You're welcome." Leaving Hermione as shocked as he had been. "Now please go back to your common room before Weasel and the Pot Plant come looking for you and try to kill me again."

Hermione rolled her eyes, suppressing an urge to laugh, and picked up her stuff. They left the library together, and as Malfoy turned to walk her way instead of his, she stopped,

"I can look after myself, Malfoy."

"You're being targeted by… by… Voldemort… who knows what…"

"I can fight just as well as you- maybe even better thanks to the…" She cut herself off quickly.

"The what?" He asked, frowning.

"Nothing… Buffy's classes… she's taught me a couple of extra things."

"Right." He said, unconvinced.

"Anyway, I don't need an escort."

"I wasn't going to escort you!" He cried indignantly. Hermione nearly laughed out loud at the absurdity of him denying it _now_.

"Whatever." Hermione said, smirking. "But… thanks anyway… Draco." She turned and headed off down the corridor. When she was almost at the corner, she heard him call after her,

"Oi! Gr… Hermione!" She turned. "You're welcome." He said.

"So… no after effects at all?" Buffy asked for the hundredth time that evening, after Hermione was back, and the Potter siblings were alone in Buffy's room.

"None." Harry insisted. "I really am totally fine." Buffy sighed,

"I know… I just got so scared." She squeezed her brother's hand. "I'm not losing you, Harry." She said. He squeezed back, snuggling up to his sister he was so glad was here this year,

"Damn right your not." He replied, though she did notice he had positioned himself not to look in her eyes.

"We'll beat him, Harry, and it'll all be ok." She said.

"But how?" Harry asked quietly. "You know the prophecy- only I can kill him… but what if I can't?"

"If there is one thing I know about prophesies, it's that they're fiddlable." Buffy told him, "We'll find a way. I told you- I'm not losing you, one way or any other."

"Erm… Buffy?" Fairfax asked hesitantly from a painting on the wall.

"Yes?"

"There is a house-elf at the door, with a very large dog… apparently your pet Dog has arrived?"

Harry pulled away from Buffy to gape at her, and she starred right back.

"Let them in." Buffy said. The two of them stood as the portrait door swung open, and Dobby the house elf hurried in, grinning widely,

"Mr Potter sir! Dobby has missed you sir!"

"Hi Dobby." Harry replied.

"And this must be Miss Potter, Miss. Dobby is honoured to meet you Miss." He fell into a low bow. "Professor Dumbledore asked Dobby to bring a… guest to you." He said with a wide grin. On cue, a huge black shaggy dog stepped through the door, and both Potters grinned as the portrait closed and the dog shifted into a man.

"Sirius." Harry said joyfully.

----------

Heehee, I know a lot of you have been waiting for this! Please review!


	54. Rumours

Hey people, sorry its been a while. Hope all your holidays are going well!

Im in a bit of a rush so I don't have time to do review answers, but I will next chap.

WARNING: lots of swearing comin' up.

Enjoy!!

Chapter 54-Rumours 

"Hi kids." Sirius Black replied with a wonky smile. He still looked awfully thin, but had more colour in his cheeks now, and was clearly much healthier. Harry hugged his Godfather, and Buffy held a respectful distance, having only met Sirius while he was in hospital during the holidays. When he let Harry go, Sirius' eyes switched to Buffy. "Buffy." He said, smiling and holding out his arms "My saviour." He teased. She grinned, and hugged him,

"Good to see you've stopped slacking- lying around in bed all day." She shook her head disapprovingly. Sirius nudged her, but said nothing.

"So… what are you doing here?" Harry asked.

"Dumbledore told me all that was happening, and I said I wanted to be here. Strangely, he didn't argue this time."

"There has been a lot of shit." Buffy said. "And we know so little of who is behind it."

"Crabbe and Goyle probably did that thing yesterday." Harry said, but Buffy shook her head.

"They're chaperoned 24/7, Harry, there's no way they could have."

"What about that little ferret Malfoy?" Sirius suggested. But both siblings shook their heads,

"It wasn't Malfoy." Harry said.

"How d'you know?"

"Cos Malfoy… he's been a little off recently. Got orders from Voldemort, and turned them down- he's in as much danger as the rest of us."

"A Malfoy turned from Voldemort?"

"He was ordered to kill Hermione." Buffy explained, "And he wouldn't- couldn't."

"Bet she kicked his ass!" Sirius said triumphantly.

"I mean within _him_ he couldn't do it." Buffy clarified. "He was right there, he caught her off guard, and he didn't do it- and _then_ he protected her when others tried it."

"'Mione said he was sporting a fantastic shiner today." Harry said, nodding. "The Slytherin Prince isn't so regal anymore."

"Huh. Who'd have thought it?"

After a thoughtful pause, Buffy said,

"So… you're undercover as my pet dog?"

"Watch it, Potter." Sirius warned.

"There's a nice spot in front of the fire…" Buffy teased.

"Ha ha." He replied sarcastically. "I get my own room, next door, with a hidden entrance. I just have to stay dogified when I'm around the school."

"Yo, B, what's happenin'?" Came a loud call as the portrait door swung open again to admit Faith, who stopped in her tracks at the sight of Sirius. Her eyes trailed up and down him, and Buffy couldn't help but notice that Sirius' eyes returned it. "New boy." Faith said with a lilt.

"This is Sirius." Buffy said. "Sirius… this is Faith."

"Oh." Faith said, losing the coy smile. "Sirius… Sirius Black?"

"I've heard of you too." He replied, "Seems we're related somewhere down the line."

"Seems so."

"You know your father's name?"

"No. Pretty much called him 'shitbrick'."

"Doesn't ring any bells." Sirius said without humour in his tone. The tension between the two Blacks was palpable- Sirius knowing all too well of the general demeanour of his family, and of about Faiths past; Faith having never found comfort in family, and knowing that her father- her parent related to Sirius- was almost certainly a vile man, cold as ice.

"So… its good that you two have met finally." Buffy said awkwardly, "Why don't you sit down… and I'll get some drinks, huh?"

Sirius sat heavily on the sofa, Faith perching on the arm of the other, neither breaking the eye contact, like a battle of wills. Buffy rolled her own eyes, and went to her wonderful drinks drawer, thinking sarcastically how she should present them each with a glass of milk, they were acting so childishly. She slid open the drawer, and scowled at the glasses of white liquid. "Ha. Ha." She said under her breath, and shut it again. Second time round she retrieved the desired steaming mugs of coffee, and took them over.

"So what are you going to do then?" Harry asked Sirius.

"Do?" He replied.

"Here. What are you going to do while you're here, you'll get bored stiff just sitting around… and you cant spend the whole time having staring matches with Faith."

"Hm." He said. The Potters shared a look.

"Why don't we give you love birds some time alone while we go and play poker with a hippogriff." Buffy said.

"Hm." Sirius said. Then, after a pause, both Blacks turned to the siblings with grimaces,

"Huh!?" They cried in unison.

"Well that worked." Buffy grinned, while Harry laughed.

"Sorry." Sirius said, shaking his head, "It's just been a long time since I've trusted another Black."

"S'ok." Faith said. "I guess you have reason to feel a little shaky about me- I've earned it."

"_And_ you've earned our trust too." Buffy added. Sirius raised his eyebrows, but didn't question it.

"So what _are_ you going to do?" Harry repeated.

"Just keep a look out." Sirius replied, "From the sounds of it, a spare pair of eyes could be used."

"Yeah." Buffy agreed, "I mean, the teachers do what they can, but it's mostly just me an' Faith on bad guy detail, and since Faith is meant to look like a regular student, it's fiddly."

"Yeah, god… Ami isn't happy with me- she noticed that my coming and going on Halloween was way too regular for a stomach ache."

Buffy sighed,

"Amity _is_ a problem." Buffy agreed, "She's too close to not hear the occasional slips, or notice the going off."

Faith nodded,

"I just wish I could tell her. She's trust worthy, I know it… but I know, Dumble-D said I had to play student."

"It may annoy her, but it's for her own good." Buffy said.

"Yeah, I know." Faith said sadly. Buffy felt awful- she knew how hard it was for Faith to trust anyone, and now she was forced to lie to a good friend.

"Who is this?" Sirius asked warily.

"Amity Flynn." Harry replied.

"A Slytherin." Sirius said.

"Yeah." Faith said stonily.

"I knew Flynn when I was here. Bright kid, too bad he was in with those gits."

"You _really_ don't like Slytherins, huh?" Faith said.

"Most deatheaters were once Slytherins." Sirius retorted.

"Oh, so cos Ami is a Slytherin she must be evil?"

"That's not what I mean!" He snapped. "Her father seemed to be a good enough man, but he ran with the nastiest little sh… boys in the year- he wasn't big on the macho, y'see. I honestly don't know how he turned out, or who he married for that matter…"

"Ami said she never knew her parents. They died when she was a kid."

"Did she ever elaborate?" Buffy asked, remembering that conversation. Faith shook her head,

"No… an' I have no right to ask, not when I'm holding back to much."

Buffy sighed, nodding,

"I wish we knew more about what was going on- you don't hear anything in the common room?"

"Nope- no one says a thing. People aren't throwing fists at me like they are with Malfoy, but I gotta say they don't like me too much- I spend too much time with you goody-goodys."

"Urgh." Buffy said, "We need more info! Stuff keeps happening… do we even know if the spell was malicious yet?"

"There's been no way of telling who did it." Faith said.

"Which indicates foul play." Buffy said. "Crap. If he's giving orders to someone else, now that Malfoy Crabbe and Goyle are out… who could it be?"

"Anyone." Sirius said. "Not even necessarily a Slytherin- lets not forget Wormtail."

"I'll keep my ears up for any rumours of anything." Harry promised.

"Great." Buffy sighed, "I think that's all any of us can do right now."

"You ok?" Amity asked. Faith continued to star unseeingly at the chessboard. "Faith!"

"What?" Faith asked, snapping out of it suddenly.

"You ok?"

"Five by five." The slayer replied.

"So how come you've been starring at the board for _five_ minutes, and haven't made a move?"

"Oh… um… thinkin' is all."

"Right." Was the unconvinced reply. Faith took her move, and smiled. Amity frowned, "No… You… oh bugger. I totally didn't even see that coming."

Faith grinned,

"Check mate."

"I give up." Amity said with a sigh, "You're too good at this game- if I didn't know better, I'd have thought you'd played half your life."

Faith snorted,

"Ya, cos it's soo my kinda game."

"So what is your kind of game?" Said a cold voice. Faith looked up to meet the midnight blue eyes of Donovan Fulk.

"None you'd have heard of." She replied.

"Oh I wouldn't be too sure." He said, stepping closer. He was fiddling with a pack of cards, shuffling them over and over. Faith sneered with disgust as he sat beside her on the sofa.

"I think maybe you should leave." Faith warned.

"On the contrary, Black- I think I should stay… see, I've heard some _very _interesting rumours about you."

"Good for you." Faith snapped.

"Bugger off Fulk." Amity snapped.

"Why don't you?" He suggested. Two of his buddies were standing abreast of Amity's chair.

"Not a chance." She spat, glancing round the common room to realise they were alone.

"Then keep your mouth shut. You see, Black, right when you first turned up, plenty of people could have sworn that it was _you_ who had kidnapped Potter- remember _that_ rumour, Ami?" He didn't look at the Red head as he said it. "Then of course there's a myriad of ideas about why you have your own room, not to mention why you sneak out of said room almost every night."

"You should shut that large mouth of yours _now_ Fulk." Faith said stonily.

"Why? Are you afraid, perhaps, that there is truth in my words? Am I close to something, Black?" He smirked, turning side ways and leaning closer to her. "I saw you, on Halloween- the blood on your hands." Amity's brow creased in a frown as she looked at Faith. "I saw the figures stumbling after you, blood dripping from their wounds. I heard your terrified screams."

"Get away from me." Faith said through gritted teeth, knowing that she couldn't give in, she _couldn't_ force him away because she couldn't risk hurting him.

"Do you know where our dear friend ended up, Amity?" He asked. "As far as I've heard, she was found on the top of the North Tower, about to jump."

"Faith?" Amity asked shakily. The slayer was glaring at Donovan, her temper rising by the second. She leant closer to him, almost seductively, and whispered,

"It was the Astromony tower you dolt." And rammed her knee up into his groin. "Ami, wanna go for a walk?" She asked quickly, standing up.

"Oh yeah." Her friend replied. The lackies looked about to argue, ready to grab Ami, but a figure stood up from a chair nearby, pointing his wand at them.

"Three against two and a cripple." Malfoy said, "Bad odds."

Faith smirked, and they left hurriedly.

"What the hell was that!?" Amity snapped as they walked quickly down the corridor.

"Wouldn't mind an answer myself." Malfoy added.

"That was… complicated." Faith replied as she marched towards the entrance hall, then out of the front doors.

"Faith!" Amity said angrily, "If he was right about all that- and from your reaction, I wouldn't be surprised, then you have a hell of a lot to explain!"

"No, I don't." Faith snapped.

"Er, yeah you do, Black."

"Shut up Malfoy."

"Why? You helped me, and I…" He seemed to consider this, "Ok, I'll shut up."

Faith fought an urge to laugh, and just kept walking.

"Faith, I thought we were friends? You don't tell me anything!" Amity said.

"That's because I _cant!_" Faith cried, "God! You think I like lying to you _all the time!?_ You think I enjoy this? Do you have any idea how much self control it took to not break that shit-brick's nose?"

"You broke something else instead." Malfoy reasoned, grinning.

"Shut _up_ Malfoy!" Both girls shouted. Faith was marching down the lawn with no idea where she was headed. She kicked at the ground and spun round to face her house mates, shaking her head,

"This is so fucking screwed up!" She cried, finding that she just didn't know what she was meant to say. She gave up, and spun again, this time folding her legs at the same time to land on the grass, facing the lake.

"Faith…" Amity said quietly, confused at her friend's frustration. She sat beside her, Draco standing awkwardly just behind. "Would you try to calm down? Donovan is just a bastard, don't listen to him…"

"But what he was saying was true!" Faith gasped, "And you know that anyway." Amity was speechless for a moment, but of course Faith was right- she had heard all of those rumours before, save the last. Faith buried her face in her hands, clamping her eyes shut to try to clear her head. "It's so fucked up." She murmured.

"What is?" Amity asked carefully.

"Everything." Faith replied, lying back on the grass and letting her hands fall beside her. She sighed. "All of this… I thought… I thought I'd be ok here, I thought I could do it- pretend like I'm just a regular person, do the friggin Clark Kent act…" She trailed off, "I'm just not as good at this as B."

"B?" Amity asked, "Buffy?"

"Fuck!" Faith cried, slapping her own forehead, "Jesus- friggin-Christ I'm a moron!" She leapt up and started walking once more.

"Faith!" Amity wailed, "Come on, girl, it's late, we should be inside!"

"Speak for yourself." The slayer yelled back. Amity shook her head,

"Bloody hell… Malfoy- could you cover for me?"

"Screw that!" He replied, "I wanna hear this."

Amity rolled her eyes, and they both ran after Faith.

"Faith please!" Amity said.

"I cant! Ami I cant! Don't you get that!? If I tell you anything, then I'm on the first damned train out of here!" She laughed hollowly, "Damn it- I'm on the first god for-fuckin' saken train to Azkaban."

"Azkaban?" Amity gasped, stopping in her tracks. When Faith turned to her this time, there were tears in her eyes,

"Please." The slayer begged, shaking her head, "Please just don't ask me." And she set off running up the lawn towards the castle.

----------

Please review!!


	55. Infiltration

Hey there! Sorry for the rush last time, but I got lotsa time now, and a nice long chappy for you, with action an' all!! And someone I know some of you have been waiting for....

Panther28- I honestly don't know how long this will be!! People keep asking, but I still don't know- it'll keep going til I manage to finish it, argh. And the worst thing is I keep thinking of doing a sequel! :'(

BotticellisVenus- Dawn cant turn up yet cos this is still season 4. If I do a sequel, she will feature, of course- I don't know exactly what it'll be like tho- I have thought of what you suggested… it could be interesting…

Angel of Ravenclaw- thanx for the cookies and icecream!

Lauren- I cant email everyone who reviews! If you want to be notified when I update, I suggest you actually sign up to , so that you can use author alerts- you don't have to write anything. Hope that helps.

Brigurl- thanks for your suggestion- I'll get to work on that, it's a great idea.

So Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

I got my AS results! Yey, did a lot better than I thought I would!

As it's the holidays and you all have lotsa free time, you shud all go read Beck89, witchlight, shootingstar19 and Fanfic-Frankie, who is fairly new at this and I know she would appreciate helpful reviews!!

So, on with the chapter- this should hopefully make several of you very very happy!!

Chapter 55-Infiltration

"Ok guys, come on!" Harry called out across the pitch, "We have one week 'til the first match, and we are _not_ going down to Hufflepuff!"

"Its _MY_ bat!" Jessica cried, wrestling with her sister as they both flew down the pitch.

"Oh yeah? So where is mine then?" Jodie spat back.

"I don't know! You probably lost it, like everything else!"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You know what that means!"

"Erm, Guys?" Harry called out, "Guys? Jodie! Jess! Shut up!"

They fell quiet, and the rest of the team assembled. "Ok." Harry said more calmly. "As I was saying, we only have one more week, so I want you out here Monday Wednesday _and_ Friday, ok?"

"Oh man, Harry…" Katie began, "You're sounding like Oliver!"

"This is a largely new team, Katie, we need the practise."

"_Really._" Said Fred as he floated up by Harry.

"Thanks Fred." Harry said sarcastically.

"Ignore him, Harry." George said, "You're doing great."

"You'll take the twins again?" Harry asked.

"Of course." Fred said.

"Girls." Said George, gesturing for them to lead the way, and the four of them flew off.

"Oh, is this your bat?" Harry heard Fred ask, and he shook his head slightly.

"Ok, the rest of us will do the usual, ok?" Harry said. The team nodded, and they split into two pairs, Ron heading to one goal post.

Meanwhile, the two lots of twins were practising with a bludger, hitting it back and forth between them. The Weasleys were forcing the girls to work as a team as much as possible, and though they wouldn't fully admit it, they were good- very good.

"So how's it going with Buffy?" Fred asked as they dodged bludgers.

"You ask me this _now!?_" George exclaimed, whacking an attacking ball.

"Good a time as…" Fred swung upside down on his broom to get out of the way, and George hit the bludger. "Any." Fred puffed, coming upright again.

"Right." George said, shaking his head. "Stuff is fine with Buffy- great even."

"Buffy as in Harry's sister?" Jodie asked, eyes wide.

"Oooh!" Said Jessica, "You guys are together?"

"That's so sweet!" Jodie squealed.

"Way to go Fred."

Buffy walked into the training room to find Faith once again pummelling the punchbag for all she was worth. Buffy frowned,

"Faith?" She got no replied, other than an extra hard kick to the bag. Buffy hurried forward, grabbing Faith's shoulder, "Faith! Whoa, Faith!" She turned her sister slayer away from the punch bag to see that she had clearly not slept, and that her cheeks were stained by tears. "Hey…" Buffy said, "What? What happened?" She led Faith to the sofa, and she didn't resist. They sat, and Buffy only repeated the question with her eyes.

"I can't do this, B." Faith said, "I just can't… everyone knows I'm not who I say I am, and, and… I can't…" her voice cracked- Buffy had never seen her so broken up.

"Slow down." Buffy said, "What happened?"

"Donovan Fulk." Faith said.

"The guy who has the hots for you?" Buffy asked in confusion. Faith nodded,

"He came up to me in the common room last night, with two of his buddies, right in front of Ami and Malfoy… he said that he'd heard rumours about me- about taking Harry, about why I have a separate room, why I go off all the time… and… he saw me on Halloween, and he knew… he knew what I…" Buffy nodded- she understood. Faith, however, shook her head, "I kneed him in the nether regions, B-I _know_ it was stupid, but it was the friggin least I could do."

"He deserved it- anyone woulda done the same." Buffy reasoned.

"But then… Ami and Malfoy had their questions… I tried to throw 'em off, B, I did… but what could I tell them? They _know_ its true, Buffy…" She shook her head, "They _know!_ An' I just… I was so angry! I swear, if I don't stuff a damn rag in my mouth right now I'll be in Azkaban by Wednesday!"

Buffy shook her head,

"Faith, don't be silly- just calm down. We'll talk to Dumbledore…"

"No… no, he'll… I don't know what he'll do, but I know I wont like it. He'll say they know too much, he'll blame _me_- its not fair, B, its not fair!"

"Faith, please, we'll work this out. Right now you need to go to bed- get some sleep before you make yourself ill- that's the last damn thing I need. I'll talk to Dumbledore," She ignored Faith's attempt to interrupt, "And I will make absolutely sure he doesn't jump to any sort of whacked conclusions, ok?"

Faith nodded slowly,

"Ok. Fine." She said dryly.

"I'll come see you in a bit, k?"

"Yeah. Sure." Faith said hollowly.

"Get some rest." Buffy said, patting her arm before leaving.

Buffy knocked on the door at the top of the moving spiral staircase, and Dumbledore called,

"Come in!" So she did. "Ah, Buffy." He said.

"Professor."

"I fear that I know why you are here."

"I don't doubt it."

"Your fellow slayer." Dumbledore said, sitting back in his chair, arching his fingers together. "It seems she has been… _talking_ to the other students."

"What?" Buffy exclaimed, "No! No, you've got it wrong, totally, completely wrong."

"Really?" The headmaster said with a frown, "Because I was just informed by Professor Snape that a student of his…"

"Donovan Fulk." Buffy spat.

"Yes." Dumbledore said, "Apparently Faith told him a lot of rather frightening things while… I believe his words were 'coming on to' him."

"WHAT!?" Buffy cried, almost laughing, "_No_ way. That little… ok, look, that creep has been grabbing at Faith since the day she got here! He went to her yesterday, and told her, in front of Malfoy and Amity Flynn, about all the rumours he'd heard about her, what he saw on Halloween, _and_ –god know how he found out- about her nearly throwing herself off the astronomy tower! Fulk is the bad guy, Dumbledore, don't you dare get pissed with Faith!"

"Her side of the story is all well and good, Buffy, but…" He was cut off by a flare of green flames in the fire place. As the both looked on, Xander tumbled out.

"Xander!?" Buffy cried, "What are you doing here?"

"Mr. Harris- I thought we said that this was only for emergencies…"

"This _is_ an emergency!" Xander snapped, clambering to his feet and wiping soot from his face, "They got Willow, Buff."

And just when you lot thought I was Faithifying again. grins evilly should I stop here?

Just kidding, I'm not _that_ mean!

"They… who?" Buffy asked urgently.

"The commando dudes. Spike… I think they must have been after him, but they got Willow!"

"Spike? …what commando dudes? Xander, explain!"

"There's something new going on in town- apparently demons are scared, Buff. We've seen these commando guys around- on Halloween, and patrolling once or twice, but we don't know who or where they are. Tonight… erm…" He looked around at the sunlight streaming through the windows, "Today… I was on my way to see Will, but just as I got there, I saw Spike come pelting out of the building, totally ignoring me, and then a group of those guys came out- armed, and dragging Willow- she looked unconscious."

"Oh god." Buffy gasped, "I…" She looked to Dumbledore, "I have to go."

"Of course." He nodded

"Tell Faith to be alert- we can talk about the other stuff later, but even though its unlikely, this could be some bizarre way of getting me out of the way- make sure she knows the deal." Buffy didn't even consider that she had just given Dumbledore orders- when it came to this sort of thing, she was the boss. The headmaster nodded, and handed her a pot of floo powder. Buffy took it, threw some in the fire and passed it to Xander. The flames flared green, so she stepped in and said, "Revello Drive- SunnyDale."

Buffy stepped out into her living room- far too concerned to notice she had kept her balance. Xander was only moments behind her.

"Giles! We're back!" Xander yelled as they headed for the dining room. Giles and Oz stood as they entered, and were clearly relieved to see Buffy.

"Oh god- Oz." Buffy said. She stepped forwards, and hugged him. "It'll be ok." She promised. Then to all three of them, "Do we have any clue where these guys are?"

Giles sighed in frustration,

"Perhaps somewhere near UC Sunnydale? I can't be sure."

"Not good enough." Buffy said, shaking her head, "Ok- I so didn't want to have to bother with this…" She went to the weapons trunk, and took out a knife and several stakes.

"Buffy… I think they're human." Xander said.

"Really not caring, Xand- they got Willow." She nodded solemnly to them all, and just as Giles was about to ask where she was going, Buffy disappeared with a loud crack.

In the middle of one of SunnyDale's many graveyards, Buffy reappeared, and yelled out, "SPIKE!?" When she received no reply, she disapparated again, concentrating really hard on where she wanted to be… or rather who she wanted to be there. When she reappeared, she was standing only feet behind the Blonde vampire, who was checking out a crypt. He jumped at the noise, and turned,

"Slayer!" He snarled.

"Hey Spike." She said.

"I've been waiting for th…"

"Quit it." Buffy snapped. "These guys who got Willow- where are they?"

"How would I…"

"Just tell me!" Buffy said, slamming him against the tomb and pulling a stake.

"Under the Uni!" He said immediately. "There's an entrance in the woods…"

"Get more specific."

"I…" He rolled his eyes, "I'll show you."

"Good, and tell me what to expect inside." She ordered as Spike began to lead the way.

The metal door was locked tight. Buffy chewed her lip,

"So, lots of military types, doctors, and shut up demons?"

"Yup. And… you might want to cover your face, Slayer… they look government."

"Hm. Ok then." Buffy pulled the flowery scarf from about her neck and wound it around her face instead, so that only her eyes were showing. "Better?"

"Yeah."

"Great. Show time."

"Erm… slayer, unless you just got a whole lot stronger, this entrance is shut."

"Not a problem." Buffy said, and disappeared with another crack.

"Bloo-dy hell." The vampire exclaimed.

The first two guards, right by the door, very literally didn't know what had hit them. A loud crack sounded, and then they each felt a sharp hit to the neck, and fell unconscious. Buffy crouched, and check for a pulse.

"Huh- hearts beating, no demon face when hit… this is officially wiggy."

She crept onwards, peeking round corners. When she reached another door, with an electric key pad, Buffy pouted- she didn't know what was on the other side, so apparating was a bad idea. Instead she pulled out her wand, and said, "Alohomora!" with her fingers crossed. The door began to slide up, and Buffy hid to one side.

"That's odd." A voice said, "No one's there…" A man in a white lab coat walked tentatively out, and Buffy stunned him with her wand. He fell with a brief cry.

"Oh great." Buffy murmured, as she heard the guy's friend call in a disturbance. Buffy rushed through the door and took out that scientist too. Then she just gaped- she was in a long white corridor with cells on either side, fronted with glass. In each cell was a demon, many of them looking less than great. "What the…?" Buffy gasped. But she didn't have long to wonder, because 'commando dudes' were piling in from the other end.

"Freeze! You are outnumbered and trapped!" The leader rapped out. Buffy shrugged,

"Ok, so I'm outnumbered- but who said I was gonna play fair?" At that moment she apparated to the other end, behind the soldiers, and knocked the back twos' head's together. She dodged gun fire, and apparated again, and again, taking down soldiers each time. Finally there was only the leader left- a good looking guy- tall, muscular… she thought she'd heard one of the others call him Finn… Buffy actually nodded in appreciation.

"Give it up, demon." He said, though he didn't sound convinced. "You don't know what you're dealing with." Buffy made a point of looking up and down the corridor.

"Me give it up? It's you who doesn't know what you're dealing with. Little boys toying with demons- which I'm not, by the way- my suggestion? You guys clear out before you get way over your depth."

"You don't…"

"No. Shut up now." Buffy said. "Where is the girl?"

"The…?"

"The girl you kidnapped today- the _human_ girl."

"She's in quarantine!" The guy snapped, "She…"

"Thanks." Buffy said, and drew her wand, which he frowned at. "Night night." She said, then, "Stupify." He collapsed. Buffy ran to the end they'd come from, and apparated through the door- they knew she was here already, there was no point pretending. She found herself in a huge room, military personnel all around. "Whoa." She commented.

"Yes. Whoa." Said a calm voice- a middle aged woman with blonde hair. "Now as you can see, you are completely surrounded. She was right- at least twenty soldiers had guns trained on her. "So just raise your hands…" But Buffy was gone. She had apparated to the next door, checked for Willow and moved on, flitting so quickly that they couldn't keep track of her, let alone shoot her.

Eventually Buffy found another door that lead to Cells, and once inside, she could see Willow lying in one, with something like a hospital robe on. She crept to the glass, and said,

"Will?" The redhead started, spinning round with her eyes wide,

"Buffy!" She cried, "What are you doing here?"

"Came to save you." Buffy grinned.

"Oh. Yey… but, um- door."

"Yeah." Buffy's grin got a whole lot wider as she once again just said, "Alohomora." And the door opened, shield and all.

"Wow." Willow commented. Buffy nodded, but glanced around nervously.

"Now this is the hard bit, cos I cant apparate _with_ you. Is there a way out up here?" Willow shook her head,

"They all go that way." She pointed back to the main room.

"Ok…" Buffy murmured. "Um… we're gonna have to… ooh." She glanced at a gurney nearby, it couldn't possibly be that easy… could it? A lab coat lay folded on the gurney too- Buffy nearly groaned for the effort of not jumping on the obvious escape route.

"Worth a try." Willow reasoned.

"I was so hoping you'd say that. Get on." She covered Willow with the sheet, and donned the lab coat, taking the scarf from her face. Then she oh-so calmly walked out of the corridor and into the main chamber. The soldiers were searching for her, that was clear, but it meant they really weren't paying any attention to some lab-tech wheeling a dead demon. Buffy got to that first door ok, but it was then that she heard the first,

"Hey! You!" She didn't speed up, just kept going until she was through the door- _then_ she began running. They reached the end of the hall, and Willow leapt of the gurney. Buffy magicked the door, but it seemed to be taking an age to open.

EMERGENCY LOCKDOWN IN PROGRESS Blared an alarm, and the door started down again.

Heehee! Fun.

Anyone like the Riley bashing? I did. That was very satisfying. Which is a little worrying… but hey!

Please review!!


	56. Pumpkin Pie

Ok, sorry its been a while, but I have two things for you today! First a summary of the whole thing up til now, and then a pretty long chapter for all you wonderful people!

Silver Warrior- the commandos grabbed willow cos they tried to in the actual show cos she had been with spike and they thought she might have been turned.

V- this is comparative to Season 4, so Spike may be around a bit more, but he isn't integral to my plans right now.

ChancingFaith – thank you very much, I like cookies!!

Panther28- Sorry that there hasn't been too much harry-ness of late. There will be I promise. As for Riley? I HATE him.

Now the summary- I _think_ everything is there, but some little bits may have been left out. The major stuff is here though, so I hope it helps!!

_Previously:_

_Lily Evans and James Potter had a daughter when they were seventeen- still in school. They hid the pregnancy from everyone, even Dumbledore. Only Lily's sister, Petunia, knew the child ever existed. _

_18 years later, Buffy Summers, the vampire slayer, who had just graduated from highschool, lost her mother, only to find papers informing her that Joyce was not in fact her true parent. She discovered that she was Anne Lily Potter, and that she had a brother- Harry Potter, who was famous. _

_On meeting Harry, she found out all about the wizarding world in which he lived, and he found out all about her world of demons and wiccan magic. Harry moved to Sunnydale with his sister, where he experienced his first vampires and proved his relation to the slayer in battle. On return to England, Buffy met Harry's 'family', and soon fitted in, despite their scepticism about her role as the slayer, though only Harry knew much of her past. After a small misunderstanding, Buffy hooked up with George Weasley. Both Harry and Buffy, aswell as Harry's friends, gained their apparating licences during the summer, and with Buffy's help, Sirius Black, Harry's godfather, was saved from the spirit realm into which he had fallen._

_At Hogwarts, Buffy began to learn some magic, and started teaching 'muggle defence' to the students, as she and Dumbledore believed it could be necessary in the coming months. _

_Voldemort meanwhile awoke Buffy's sister Slayer, Faith, from her coma in hope of recruiting her to his team. However, on discovering that Harry, the boy Voldemort wanted her to kidnap, was Buffy's brother, she instead formed her own plan to lure Buffy into killing her, rather than continuing living with the pain she held within her. Buffy did not kill her, and instead bought her to Hogwarts, where Faith enrolled under the conditions that she couldn't tell anyone the truth about her. It was discovered that Faith's father was a Black, but no one knows details. Faith chose to join Slytherin house after meeting Draco Malfoy, and befriended Amity Flynn, a girl who never met her parents and doesn't seem to have any particular prejudice to muggles or halfbloods._

_Hermione and Ron got together after Hermione tricked him into revealing his true feelings with a wiccan glamour that made her look like Harry._

_While the 'scooby gang' were still at Hogwarts following this, Xander tried to connect with Faith, and they kissed more than once, but she pushed him away. He and the others left soon after. _

_Draco Malfoy was ordered by Voldemort to poison Hermione Granger. When he couldn't do it, he fled the school, only to be surrounded by death eaters in Hogsmeade. It was Hermione who came to his rescue, and a strange respect was formed between them. Crabbe and Goyle, Malfoy's former friends, tried to finish Malfoy's assignment, but met the force of Ron Harry and Draco instead. _

_At Halloween a spell bought everyone's worse fears to life, Faith seeing the people she had killed and nearly killing herself, and Harry growing ill as Dumbledore's fear that he would die started becoming reality. Buffy stopped the demon causing this, but no one knows who summoned it._

_Sirius Black has come to Hogwarts to help, while Faith is having trouble keeping her secrets secret from her friend. Donovan Fulk, a Slytherin, reveals that he knows a lot about faith in front of Malfoy and Amity, and Faith breaks down as she realises she still cant tell them the truth. _

_ Buffy is called away to SunnyDale because Willow has been captured by mysterious commandos searching for Spike. With the vampire's help, Buffy apparated into the initiative and saved Willow, taking out many soldiers (including Riley Finn) in the process. As they rush to escape, an alarm blares, and the doors begin to lock down…_

Chapter 56-Pumpkin Pie

"Shit!" Buffy cried, "Willow, go through- go!" Willow ducked under, while Buffy apparated through. They ran the approach tunnel at full pelt, to where the guards were just coming around. "Back to sleep." Buffy sang, knocking them on the heads again. She grabbed one of their key cards before realising there was a code too, "Oh bugger." Buffy exclaimed, and used her wand instead. They got outside, and ran as fast as they possibly could.

Back at the house, the men were worried- Buffy had been gone a long time as far as they were concerned, and that, of course, was bad. Suddenly the door burst open, and Buffy and Willow practically flew through it, collapsing in the sitting room in fits of giggles. The guys stood watching them with confused expressions.

"Well I know _I_ missed something." Xander commented. Oz nodded, and Giles said,

"Buffy?"

"Oh, hey guys." Buffy breathed.

"Erm… did everything go alright?" The ex-watcher asked. Buffy nodded,

"Easy as pumpkin pie." She replied, "You shoulda seen those guys faces when I apparated…."

"They _saw_ you?"

"Oh no, no, I covered my face- Spike's idea actually."

"Did you find out what was wrong?" Willow asked.

"Huh?" Buffy asked.

"What was wrong with Spike- he couldn't bite me."  
"He… what?"

"When Spike came over looking for you, he tried to bite me, and he couldn't- it hurt him. I thought maybe he was having a mid-death crisis."

"Gotta say I wouldn't put it passed those military guys." Buffy said.

"Yeah- that place was scary, Buffy- what if they get me again when I'm at school?"

"They wont." Buffy said, "I… the guy I asked said you were in quarantine… I guess they don't really understand what it take to turn a person- but anyhow, I don't think you'll be in trouble once you've been seen in daylight."

Willow nodded with relief,

"Ok. That's good."

Buffy chuckled,

"Yeah. You scared me for a minute there!"

"Sorry." Willow said, sticking out her bottom lip. The friends hugged, and then Willow jumped up to hug Oz too.

"Erm… do you want something to eat? Breakfast… I suppose." Giles offered.

Buffy checked the clock and winced- it was just gone four in the morning.

"Yes." She said firmly, "I could really do with some bacon an' eggs."

"English breakfast." Giles said with a smirk, "Why am I _not_ surprised?"

"We have to do something!" Harry snapped as he paced, "Buffy has been gone ages, and this could be big…"

"Harry, your sister can deal with it!" Neville insisted.

"What if she can't?" Harry retorted. They were in the room of requirement, where they had retreated when they had heard from Faith what had happened.

"She can, Harry- of course she can." Hermione said, "You know she's dealt with much worse than this."

Harry slumped into the sofa that had appeared and slammed his fist down on it.

"Its just… its Willow- y'know? Buffy isn't her clearest when it's her friends in danger… if something happened…"

"It'll be ok, mate." Ron said. Just then the door burst open and in marched George, Fred and Luna Lovegood.

"Still no word." George said angrily.

"I'm sure she's fine, Harry." Luna said, "Fred and George told me what happened when I met them in the hall… I wouldn't worry."

"She's not your sister!" Harry snapped. Luna looked shocked, and a little upset- she'd only meant to comfort him.

"Harry!" Hermione cried, "Calm down! Its not fair for you to snap at everyone else- we're only trying to be here for you for gods sake!" Her teacher-like tone shut everyone up, and acted rather like a slap in the face to the boy who lived. He nodded slowly,

"Sorry." He said stiffly. "Luna- I'm sorry. I'm just a little freaked."

"It's ok." Luna said dismissively. She hesitated slightly, before moving to sit next to Harry on the sofa. "But Buffy _will_ be fine. Deep down you know that."

Harry looked sideways at her, surprised at the odd girl's depth and insight.

"Yeah." He said tiredly, "I just wish I knew what was happening.

"An' now we do." Said Faith as she came through the door. "Buffy sent Dumbledore a message- y'know that weird head in the fire thingy? Red's fine. Buffy beat the commando dudes to a pulp and told them to get off her turf… or something like that."

"Wicked!" Harry cried, jumping up, "So… where is she then?"

"She's sticking around for a little while, y'know to catch up an' all that."

"Oh."

Faith smirked,

"Don't look so disappointed, dude. Everything's fine- she just wants to spent a little time with them, and work out something with Spike…"

"Spike? What about him?" Harry asked.

"Who's Spike?" Ron asked.

"A vampire." Harry replied.

"Wait… Spike as in William the Bloody?" Hermione asked with a frown.

"The one an' only." Faith grinned.

"Who?" The twins asked in unison.

"He's a bad-ass vampire, who has apparently been neutered."

All the boys in the room winced and grimaced, and Faith rolled her eyes, "Not literally!" She snapped, "Somehow these military dudes have sorted it so he can't bite people."

"Nifty." Neville commented. Faith nodded,

"Yeah, well, B's checkin' it out. No big-V conspiracy, so you lot can relax. I'm gonna go get some sleep." Without a pause, Faith turned on her heel and left.

"Hey, Faith." Fred called after her in the hallway.

"Uh-huh?" She replied.

"You ok?"

"Five by five."

He just frowned in confusion. "I'm fine." She clarified.

"Oh. Good." He said awkwardly, "Just… y'know, if you need to talk or anything, ever…"

Faith's eyebrow quirked.

"Right. Thanks." She said.

"You never let anyone in, do you?" Fred said with interest.

"Huh?" Faith was getting pretty tired of people saying that. "Look, Fred, I…"

"No, no… I'm not trying to say anything, or push anything… I just noticed. You seem sorta lonely."

"I'm not lonely! I…"

"Can't tell your friends who you are?"

"Ok, getting annoying." Faith noted. Fred chuckled,

"Sorry. I get that it's gotta be hard."

"You have no idea." She replied in a murmur. He sighed,

"Things shouldn't always have to be so complicated… so… touchy feely. If someone needs distance they should be allowed it."

Faith narrowed her eyes, wondering if he realised that he was totally contradicted himself.

"Sometimes you need things to be meaningless for a while." She said thoughtfully.

"Yeah." He agreed, "Sometimes you just need to do something for the hell of it, no strings attached! But nowadays- when is that even possible?"

"Depends what it is you want to do." The slayer replied.

"Well yeah, I suppose it does…" Fred said, tilting his head to one side.

"So? What is it you so want to do with… no strings attached, was it?"

Fred chuckled,

"Faith, I'm a teenage boy- there's a lot of things I'd like to do."

"Right now?" She asked.

"Well… I can think of one thing…" He said with a sly smile, taking a few steps towards her. Faith laughed softly,

"Oh Freddy boy- trust me, you _don't_ want that. Not with me."

"Why not?" He asked unconvinced.

"Because you wont keep to the no strings rule, will you? You have too much heart for that."

"Hey, I can do no strings!" He argued. "If you can, why cant I?"

"Because you still believe in this fucked up world. You have stuff to live for, people to love. You care too much to just get some an' get gone, sweetie."

"Try me." He said.

"You're an idiot." She warned, but found that she was actually in far to screwed up a mood to put much forced behind it. He reached her, and pushed her hair behind one ear, before kissing her roughly. "One more warning." Faith cooed, well aware that if he did not heed it, she would not stop him. He kissed her again,

"Oops." He said.

Minutes later they were in Fred's room, the door joining it to Georges firmly locked, and neither of their minds on anything outside those four walls. For many weeks Faith had wanted something to take her mind off everything; her secrets, her job, her past, not to mention certain things that had happened when the Sunnydale lot were here. Now she had her chance, and the part of her objecting was expertly ignored.

"So it's all fine then." Hermione said happily.

"Yeah- except by the sounds of it we wont be having a session tonight." Harry added.

"Oh bugger." Ron agreed, "Why does stuff always coincide with our ones?"

"Cos you're just unlucky." George said nicely. He frowned, "Where did Fred go?"

"Seemed like he wanted to speak to Faith." Harry said.

"Huh." George stuck his head out of the door and called down the corridor, but his brother was nowhere to be seen. He came back in shaking his head, "No sign of 'im. Must have gone off. Oh well."

"Wanna play chess Harry?" Ron asked, and a chess board appeared on a table out of nowhere.

"Yeah, why not?" Harry nodded with a sigh.

It was not long later that Faith found herself lying starring at the red awning over Fred's four poster bed. Bizarrely enough, the thought clearest in her mind was that this was definitely the poshest bed she'd ever done that in. She threw off the covers and reached for her clothes.

"Where you going?" Fred asked.

"Back to my room." She replied shortly.

"Don't you wanna stay a b…"

"No." She snapped, "No strings, remember?"

"So you're just leaving?"

Faith squeezed her eyes shut, all those thoughts about how this was a really bad idea coming back _really_ fast.

"Yes." She said stiffly. "I need a shower."

"Well you can…"

"No, Fred." She cut him off. "No strings means _no strings_. I'm not your girlfriend, ok? This was a one time, spur of the moment _nothing_. Got it?"

"But...?"

"You said it yourself!" She cried in exasperation. "It was your idea."

He nodded. "Right." She murmured. She pulled on her boots and left, unable to shake a feeling she had never felt before, or at least not in this way. She felt dirty. She felt cheap. And why? She had absolutely no idea.

That evening, a large group of students sat in the training room, even though they knew Buffy wouldn't make it. They had sent away everyone who came for the class, but left were the trio, the twins, Neville, Luna, and Ginny.

"I think that's everyone." Ron sighed.

"Yep." Harry agreed. "When do you reckon she'll come back?"

"Didn't sound like she'd be gone long." George replied, "I'm sure she'll be back tomorrow."

"Yeah." Harry said. There was a short silence while no one knew what to say. Then Harry suggested, for he cold think of nothing else, "Anyone want to play chess?" He looked to Ron, but realised that his best friend was caught up in a kiss with Hermione, who was sitting on his lap. Harry raised his eyebrows a little, and looked round to the others.

"I'll play." Said Luna. Harry's eyebrows went higher,

"O…ok." He replied, and he pulled a chessboard from the bottom shelf. Luna smiled, and pulled a chair up opposite Harry,

"As long as you don't mind being beaten." She added- no one could tell if she was serious or not. Harry smirked,

"I have plenty of experience in it." He said, nodding towards Ron. Luna giggled, and blushed, and started setting out her pieces.

Faith sat on her sofa with a transfiguration text book in front of her, but she didn't see the words. A tear hitting the paper snapped her out of her reverie, and she wiped her eyes rapidly. She slammed the book closed and dropped it on the floor, curling up on the sofa. She knew that only a few metres away, in the common room, Amity would be sitting, maybe on her own, maybe with other students, hell, maybe with Draco Malfoy. Faith wished that she could be there with her, but knew right now that she couldn't face her- she knew that Amity wanted answers, and deserved answers- answer Faith could not give. She wanted to forget all this, escape _life_ itself- and she had tried, in the best way she knew… but it had only made things worse. Now she had hurt Fred Weasley without even meaning to. She pressed her clenched fists to her eyes as more tears forced their way out- how could things be so screwed up when she was just trying to do the right thing?

"Faith?" Said Madame Burness (Her portrait door guardian) from a painting on the wall.

"Yeah?" Faith replied, sniffing and wiping at the tears.

"There is a, erm… a dog outside, barking at my portrait. Faith chuckled damply, but nodded,

"Let 'im in."

"Very well." She disappeared, and the door opened, Sirius loping through and changing the moment the door was closed.

"Good evening." He greeted her.

"Hey." She replied. She didn't turn to him as she knew that her face was tearstained and she felt awkward- she always did when she was forced to show emotion.

"I thought maybe we should talk, y'know, about family and all that… maybe try to figure out who your elusive father was…"

"Yeah." She replied. Sirius frowned, walking around the sofa to get in front of her,

"Are you alright?" He asked

"Five by five." She said instinctively.

"Faith…" He sat beside her, shaking his head, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She snapped. Sirius chuckled,

"I'm not blind, Faith." He replied, "Now, as it appears that each of us is the only family we really have, I think it's probably up to me to be the nosey one and force you to tell me all your troubles."

Faith couldn't help but laugh a little. She squeezed her eyes shut and leant her head back.

"Everything is wrong." She told him. "Everything. It's all totally screwed up, and when I try to make it right, or push it away, it just gets worse. I can't do this."

"This about that prat Fulk?" He asked. Faith frowned at him. "Yes- Dumbledore told me. Fulk is a git, Faith, as was his father."

"Was?"

"He was killed by aurors years and years ago. Faith- he is trying to get at you."

"I know! He's damned good at it!"

"Oh please! You've faced demons and death and you're letting him get at you? Sorry but that's pathetic."

"The things he was talking about, in front of…"

"I know." Sirius cut her off. "He was divulging your secrets, ones that you had sworn that _you_ wouldn't tell, before people you wish you _could_ tell. Yes?"

"Yes." She said hollowly.

"Faith, times are bad right now- for everyone. You have had it worse than most people- I know that. And to hold all this in when you have to fight in secret and ward off the Dovovan Fulks of the world all at once, it's hard. And it's unnecessary." He shook his head, "Faith, listen- I may not know you all that well, but I can give you this advice; stop searching for something to loose you pain into, and turn to those who are already there. You are not alone- there are people in this world- in the castle… and in Sunnydale right now, who care about you. You have to learn that they are there for you- you don't have to search for someone else."

"It's just so hard." Faith said weakly.

"I know."

"I can't take it." She gasped.

"Yes you can."

"I can't, I can't…"

He grabbed her arms, forcing her to look into his eyes,

"You are strong, and you have people here for you- you don't have to hold it in all the time."

Faith heaved a sob she couldn't stop, and Sirius pulled her to him, hugging her tight as she cried. It was strange to realise that a girl who seemed so strong and invulnerable could actually still be so young underneath, so lost and lonely. "It's ok." He whispered, "Shh, it's ok."

There ya go! Hope you like. Teehee. Please don't kill me.

Review please!!!


	57. Quidditch

Not got much time- I literally have to go to bed like _now_. So no review comments, but a new chappy. Sorry it's been a while, lots going on- went back to school today shudders

Now before anyone kills me for a certain thing that happens in this chapter, I wanna say it was soo completely, totally, utterly not planned, but hey, it happened, and it'll provide some more lovely angst, so I kept it. So sorry if you don't like it, it I promise its not a major plotline cos I never intended it to happen!! Confused? Well believe me, by the end of the chapter you'll understand!!

Chapter 57-Quidditch

When Buffy returned to Hogwarts that night, it was nearly three in the morning English time. She stepped out of her fire and stumbled exhausted towards her bed.

"Buffy?"

She cried out in shock, and spun round with a stake raised, to see Harry sitting up from her sofa, eyes bleary.

"Harry?" She said, chucking the stake onto the other sofa, "What the heck are you doing in here?"

"Waiting for you." He replied.

"Oh Harry." She sighed, "You twerp. I'm the older sibling- _you're_ not meant to worry."

"You ran off to Sunnydale!"

"Didn't you get the message?"

"Yes… but… well, I wanted to see you ok myself."

Buffy smiled sleepily,

"You're sweet."

"You're my only real family left, Buffy- of course I worry about you."

Buffy opened her arms, and he moved to hug her.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. "Come on- lets get some sleep, huh?"

Harry smiled, and headed back to the sofa. Buffy snorted, grabbed his arm and dragged him back to the bed, "Don't be dumb- there's enough space on this thing for ten people."

Harry laughed, and they both collapsed on the huge bed, dropping to sleep in moments.

The next day, Buffy reported the full story to Dumbledore, and they continued their little conversation about Faith. Dumbledore told Buffy that a portrait in the Slytherin common room had verified Faith's side of the story, and so Donovan Fulk would be reprimanded for spreading rumours. Buffy was relieved that Faith was in the clear again, and went to see her to tell her so.

"Hey B." Faith greeted her, and immediately Buffy knew the other slayer was on edge.

"You ok?" She asked.

"Five by five."

Buffy gave her a withering look, and she shrugged.

"Dumbledore believes you." Buffy said, "Dovovan Fulk is gonna get it."

"You serious?"

"One hundred percent."

"Good." Faith sighed. "Still doesn't sort the fact that Amity heard it all…"

"She'll deal." Buffy said confidently.

"Really? How? She hears all that stuff, about what I did, and me trying to… and… I don't know, Buff. I get the feeling that maybe she wont want anything to do with me."

"Now that I know is not true."

"How?"

"Cos I've experienced it." Buffy said with a smile. "Even after everything that happened in Sunnydale I still just wanted you to be my friend again."

Faith just frowned at her for a moment, before cracking a smile,

"Whatever. I guess we'll just see, huh?"

"Yup."

"So how were the guys?"

"Good." Buffy replied. "Willow an' Oz are as cute as ever, Giles is considering moving back to England, and Xander…" She smirked, "He's dating this girl called Anya. An ex-demon we had some stuff with last year. She is one weird girl, I'll tell you. I mean, she has less tact that Cord… you ok?" Faith had gone very quiet, turning to stare at the ground. "Faith?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Five by five."

The next weekend was the first Gryffindor Quidditch match of the season, against HufflePuff. Buffy, Hermione, the twins, Faith, Sirius, Neville and Luna (with her Gryffindor hat) all sat together, draped in Gryffindor colours and shouting for all they were worth, getting the best seats before most people were even out. Minutes before the game began, Hermione saw someone at the entrance to the stadium, looking around awkwardly. She smirked,

"Back in a minute." She said, rushing off before anyone could stop her. Half way down the stairs she bumped into Amity, who said,

"Oh, Granger, hey… have you seen Faith?"

"Uh-huh. Top front of the Gryffindor side."

"Thanks." She said with a nervous smile.

"You ok?"

"Yeah… we just haven't been so close this past week… there's… stuff."

"I know." Hermione said. She paused, then added, "You mean a lot to her you know."

"Huh?"

"To Faith. That you're her friend means a lot. All this crap at the moment… its not her fault…" She considered this, "Its not _entirely_ her fault."

"I think I knew that." Amity smiled, "But thanks. See you."

"Yeah." Hermione nodded and continued her sprint down the stairs. When she reached the entrance, the blonde she had spotted was heading back up to the castle. "Malfoy!" She yelled, running after him, "OI! Hey! Malfoy!"

He turned, with one eyebrow raised.

"What?" He asked.

"Where are you going? You love Quidditch."

"I love _playing_ quidditch. Quidditch between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff I have no interest in."

"Which is obviously why you came down here." She replied sarcastically. He did a bit of a fish impression, and scowled.

"Come back." She suggested.

"And sit where?"

"With us."

"With _you!?_ In the Gryffindor bit? I'll have things thrown at me!" He thought a moment, "Ok, I'd have things thrown at me in the Slytherin section too, but that's just not the point."

Hermione giggled, which, oddly, made him smile.

"Come on." She said, rolling her eyes.

"No way- I wouldn't be seen dead in there."

"Oh stop being an idiot." She scolded, grabbing his arm and dragging him back down the hill.

"Now I remember why I don't like you, bossy bitch." He said.

"I'm glad, you snidey bastard." She replied, and they kept walking.

Back in the crowd, Neville called,

"Hermione!" As she reappeared, "Where did you go? Its about to…" He frowned as he saw who was with her. Draco saw the group, and sat down right where he was, quite a way away. Hermione glanced round, saw him, rolled her eyes, and grabbed his arm, pulling him with her towards the others. Amity and Faith were sitting together and grinned widely at Malfoy's expression.

"What's he doing here?" Neville asked icily.

"Doesn't have anyone else to sit with." Hermione replied and she ordered him into a seat and sat back down herself.

"I hate you." Draco said nicely. She smiled at him, and turned to the game as the players flew out onto the pitch.

-----

After the match, which Gryffindor won spectacularly, a party raged on the top lawn for most of the day.

"You guys were incredible!" Hermione squealed, throwing her arms around Ron's neck and accepting an enthusiastic kiss.

"Insane is more like it!" Buffy added grinning, clipping Harry round the back of the head before pulling him into a hug.

"Well done." Luna chimed in with a nervous smile.

"Thanks." Harry replied. Buffy's large black dog barked, pawing Harry's leg. Harry patted him on the head, laughing, "Thanks Snuffles."

Malfoy was eying the dog with a dawning expression, which Faith couldn't help but notice.

"Kid- just don't, k?" She whispered in his ear.

"I…" He began, but gave up in the face of her glare, and just stood there, trying to look as if he didn't enjoy the thrilling game. Of course, this was difficult when Granger kept offering him food and trying to get him to take part. Eventually he'd had enough and just stalked off.

"Hey!" Hermione called when she realised he was nearly back to the building. She ran after him, yelling, "Hey! Mafloy! … DRACO!"

He finally stopped, turning,

"What?" He snapped.

"Where are you going?"

"Back to my dorm room."

"Why?"

"Why?" He spluttered, "Why? Because I _hate_ these people Granger!"

"But you…"

"No, no. I can't stand bloody Potter and his fucking fan club! And the other one…"

"Buffy?"

"Whatever, she's so bloody arrogant- if her head was any further up her own arse she'd be chewing it!"

"Hey!"

"I. Don't. Like. Them."

"What about Amity, and Faith?"

"Oh great, a couple of girls who may be in Slytherin, but they're just like the rest of them!" He stormed up the steps into the entrance hall. Hermione ran after him angrily.

"You know you don't believe that. Why are you so determined to let yourself rot alone in the dark?"

"Me? Granger…"

"My _name_ is Hermione!"

He closed his eyes in frustration,

"They don't want to know me." He said. "You know they don't want to know me. Why would they? I'm a bastard."

"But you're not always." She exclaimed tiredly, "I know that you're different really… you just have this obsession with only showing that side of you… like you think being nice is a weakness!"

"But you're different!" He cried. Hermione frowned,

"How?"

"We've been through this, Hermione." He said, trying to avoid her eyes. "You helped me even after I tried to kill you- I kinda _have_ to be nicer to you."

"I know it's not that simple!"

"It really is." He replied, "And you're just… you're not like them. You're different.

"I'm not." She said quietly. "They're the same as me. I'm the same as them."

"No." He said, utterly certain, and took her hand. She didn't flinch, didn't try to pull away, and he smiled sadly, "See… half of them would hex me if I dared touch them. The other half would try to break my arm."

"Not if you gave them a chance too." Hermione insisted. He chuckled,

"Hermione… life just isn't that simple. Bloody hell I wish it were… but it's not. I'm –essentially- a git. They're the damned heroes- arrogant tossers…"

She scowled, and he hurried to continue, "We just don't fit, Hermione. I guess… I don't know… like I said, you're not like anyone I've ever met before."

"But don't you see? Until this year you hated me too." Hermione found she barely had a voice left.

"Well sometimes things just go a certain way, and there's nothing you can do to stop them." He said. With a tiny tug on her hand, he pulled her closer, and kissed her, roughly, but so much sweeter than Hermione cold have imagined…

She pulled away, shocked, her hand he had held coming to her lips.

"What are you doing...?" She gasped

"I… I didn't… Hermione…"

"I have to go." She said with a frown. "I… Ron… I have to go." She turned and actually ran out of the building and back to the lawn. Draco followed as far as the door, watching her as Weasley met her half way and put an arm around her. She didn't even look back.

"Well bloody done you pratt." Draco murmured to himself.

-------

"You ok?" George asked when Buffy let him into her room that evening.

"Yeah." Buffy replied flippantly, "Little tired is all."

"Isn't everyone? One hell of a game."

"Are you kidding? I nearly had a heart attack when he went into that dive!"

"What do you think the poor first year felt like?"

Buffy chuckled,

"It wasn't Harry's fault that the snitch was practically sitting on the kids head."

George grinned,

"Those beaters are something too eh?"

"Yeah! They look so… well… girly… but they were amazing! And Ron! Damn he was moving fast!"

"240 to 20." George said dreamily, "Looks like their gonna manage with the new team."

"Want a drink?" Buffy asked.

"Sure- I'll get 'em, you sit down."

"Thanks." Buffy said. She curled up on the sofa, and accepted a large mug of cocoa when George handed it to her, "Mm, yum."

He smiled, and sat next to her, allowing her to cuddle up to him.

"You haven't been sleeping well, huh?" He asked. Buffy frowned,

"When did you get so perceptive?"

He chuckled, but said nothing. Buffy sighed, "Yeah… I haven't even been having dreams, I just… I'm just restless I guess."

"Too much on your mind."

"Yeah- my poor little brain can't take that much weight."

He chuckled again, and kissed the top of her head,

"Any better?"

"Hm, much." She answered, and kissed him.

--------------------

Many miles away, Voldemort smiled disturbingly at his newest allies.

"Then the agreement is set?" He asked. His visitor inclined his head. "Excellent." Lord Voldemort said. "Wormtail!"

"M-master?"

"Show our friend out, and prepare the others."

"Of course, master." Wormtail replied with a sickening grin. He bowed the visitor out, and hurried after him.

--------------

Dun dun duuuunn!!

So you got what the apology was for? I swear it's not major, and that Draco is NOT gonna become a wimpy little ass. He'll still be a total _jack_-ass to everyone else. I promise!!

Please review!!


	58. Seven

Before I say anything else, I want to pay my respects to one of the best of us- Malli- who we recently lost. She was a great writer, and though I admit I never knew her personally, I, and I'm sure many of you, will miss her. 

I'm not going to dedicate this to her, because it's not worthy of that, and what, in truth, is one more dedicated chapter? Instead, I just want to say that she will be missed, and she truly was a brilliant writer, and I'm sure an amazing person too. She wont be forgotten.

--------

Now, on a lighter note-

Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry!! I'm soooo sorry that I'm taking so long with updates! Don't worry, I swear I'm not gonna do a child of the key- I will continue this story! Its simply that I've just started year 13, and it's a whole lot harder than I expected. Four subjects, four free, bio coursework and a talk I've barely started that I have to give on Wednesday- so lots to do. 

However, I'm writing whenever I can and I have a nice fun chapter for you here.

Everyone who was outraged at the whole Draco/Mione thing- good, that was the point. Lol. So much fun to wind you lot up.

Those of you who didn't like the Faith/Fred stuff- did you really not see it coming? This is Faith we're talking about, and besides, its just a nice way of upping Faith's angst, which is important…

As for the visitor, I am very disappointed that none of you guessed- I know I didn't give many clues, but still. Maybe the chappy title will help- anyway, you'll know within about 10 lines anyway.

Chapter 58-Seven 

Buffy was standing in the Great Hall, moonlight shining down from the enchanted ceiling. The tables were empty, and all the floating candles were out. Buffy stared round the room, and walked along between two of the long house tables, her footsteps echoing through the huge room.

"Hello?" She called out, "Anyone there?"

"Nope." Came a voice behind her, "Just you an' me."

She turned, smiling,

"George."

"Hey." He kissed her.

"What's going on?" She asked, "Where is everyone?"

"Around. Don't worry- just kiss me." So she did, her worries forgotten for a few moments at least. Suddenly she pulled back,

"Do you hear that?"

"What?" George asked. Buffy made her way towards the great doors, clasping George's hand behind her.

"The singing." She whispered. She pushed open the doors to see a young girl standing in the middle of the huge marble staircase, holding a small box, and singing.

"Can't even shout, can't even cry, the gentlemen are coming by.

Lookin' in windows, knocking on doors,

They need to take seven and they might take yours.

Can't call to mom

Can't say a word

You're going to die screaming but you wont be heard."

Buffy snapped awake, sitting up abruptly and jolting George, beside her, into wakefulness.

"Wha… Buffy? You ok?" He asked blearily. They were still curled up on the sofa together in their clothes from the day before.

"Erm… yeah." She said vaguely, "Weird dream is all."

George glanced at his watch,

"Hm, well it's only seven, and it's Sunday, so what d'you say we go back to sleep, huh?"

"Hm? Oh… yeah." Buffy forced a smile and let him wrap his arms around her again, but she didn't sleep.

A couple of hours later, Fairfax was in a portrait, looking apologetic,

"Miss Potter…"

"Buffy. How many times do I gotta tell people?"

"Yes, well… Miss Black is outside- I told her it wasn't a good time, but she really is rather insistent."

"Miss Black?" Buffy frowned, "Oh! Faith! Oh, no, let her in, please." Buffy said. She carefully extricated herself from George's arms, and stood, just as the door swung open to admit the other slayer, who said very testily,

"_Thank_ you."

"Mornin' sunshine." Buffy teased.

"Y'know what?" Faith said, "I would give up this gig simply for the prospect of more sleep."

"You had the dream too then?"

"Oh yeah." Faith snapped. She sat heavily on the other sofa, and frowned at George, "You made him sleep on the couch? How stiff _are_ you B?"

"I did not make him sleep on the couch." Buffy retorted, "We fell asleep _together_ on the couch."

Faith rolled her eyes, then shook her head,

"Whatever- this dream- you getting' demon vibes?"

"Big demon vibes." Buffy replied, sitting down too.

"So what… Hansel an' Gretel style again? It was just a kid."

"I don't think so. I don't think it was the kid that was significant- it was the song."

"Right, right- I didn't like the 'your gonna die screaming' bit."

"Not alone there." Buffy agreed. She grabbed a piece of parchment and her trusty biro and scribbled down the song, "Is that right?" She asked, passing it over to Faith.

"Looks it. They need to take seven… seven what?"

"I wish I knew." Buffy murmured. She stared at the piece of paper, deep in thought, then looked abruptly up at Faith, "Who was it for you?" She asked.

"'Scuse me?"

"In the dream. I was with George- he kissed me and then I heard the singing- so who was with you?"

"No one." Faith said strangely quickly, "I was alone."

"Really?" Buffy said suspiciously, "You… you reckon _that's_ significant?"

"That you have a beau an' I don't?" Faith asked with a frown.

"Ok, you're right, sounds way weird when you put it like that- must just be the screwiness of slayer dreams."

"Yeah." Faith said quietly.

"Ok… so research then?"

Faith grimaced,

"Isn't that like, the scoobies' job?"

"We are so not phoning Giles- we can do this ourselves."

"Can you do it any quieter?" George murmured. Both girls rolled their eyes, but headed for the portrait hole.

"Ok… so can't we get the mini-scoobies to do it?"

"Ooh, Hermione would love it!" Buffy said, "It's worth a try!"

Several hours later, the trio, Luna, Ginny and the twins had been roped into research, and were (except Hermione) thoroughly bored.

"How are we supposed to know what to look under?" Ron moaned, "It's just a rhyme! We've done references to the number seven- so far we have seven turnips are bad luck for goose farmers, seven mandrakes are seven times as deadly as one… this is hopeless!"

"We'll find something." Hermione said vaguely, not moving her gaze from a book.

"And where did Buffy and Faith go anyway?" Ron snapped.

"They're patrolling the school." Harry said defensively, "Looking for demons or anything."

"I'd take on a hundred spider demons if I could just get out of this place." Ron whined.

"Oh stop being such a child." Hermione said, standing, "I'm going to look through the 'numerical magic' section again." And she walked off. Ron groaned, and dropped forwards onto the desk, hitting his head. After a pause, he said,

"Ow."

"Seven seven seven…" Hermione chanted to herself as she walked between the musty rows.

"It's really not that hard." Said a voice. She spun, startled, to see Malfoy leaning against the bookshelves.

"What?" She snapped irritably.

"We need to take seven and we might take yours." He said with a smirk. "You're gonna die screaming? Think about it, clever clogs, what could they take that would kill you?"

"You were eavesdropping!?" She shook her head, "Urgh, whatever… it could be _anything_." She turned back to the shelves.

"Oh come on Granger, you know magic is more predictable that than. You think they need seven kidneys? One person, two people, three people… oh look, we have six, the next guy can keep one!?"

"You're disgusting." She snapped, pushing past him.

"Don't be so blind." He said tiredly, grabbing her arm to stop her. Hermione wrenched away from him,

"Don't touch me." She said, and immediately saw the look of pain that flashed over his features, followed quickly by forced indifference.

"Whatever." He spat. He began to leave, but suddenly turned back round, "You're only freaked 'cos you were tempted." He said nastily, and strode off. Hermione took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and returned to the group.

"You ok?" Ron said the moment she got there. Hermione nodded,

"Look for hearts." She said.

"What?"

"Seven hearts." She clarified.

"How'd you work that out?" Fred asked. Hermione shrugged,

"It's just classic." She reasoned.

"Ok then." Ron said, "That means we can get rid of that…" He dropped a book on the floor, "And that, and that…"

"Ron!" Hermione squealed. "Those books are…"

"Useless? Yep, I know…"

Hermione clipped him round the head, picked up a pile of books, and went to sit on one of the window seats on her own.

"What's with her?" Ron asked forlornly. Harry shrugged,

"You know how serious she is about research." He said. Ron frowned,

"I dunno… it seemed like more than that…"

"Don't worry, Ron, she'll be fine." Ginny insisted. He nodded, and returned to his book.

That evening, Faith helped Buffy with the sixth year defence class, both of them silently feeling that some fighting skills would come in useful awfully soon.

"No!" Buffy cried exasperatedly as a Ravenclaw girl performed the block they were practising- Buffy was making rounds, watching each of them and giving advice. "Look- your arm has to come down, hard, out here, away from your body… gimme your leg." She held the girl's leg up as if she were kicking the slayer, and showed them the movement again, "You see? It has to be out here, or the kick would get through, yeah?"

"Uh-huh."

"And you gotta get them right there, cos it makes it more forceful than higher up- you see, if you hit them there…" She moved her blocking arm up to the top of the girl's calf, "Then it would break your arm rather than deflecting their attack. So it must be here, out from your body, but don't reach too far up, k?"

"Ok…" The girl said. Buffy put her leg back down, and said,

"Alright, let's see it again." The girl tried the block again, and Buffy nodded, "Much better." The girl sighed with relief as Buffy moved on.

"They're good." Faith said at the end, as the crowd moved out. "Better than I expected- you really are a good teacher."

"So why do I have this feeling that it's not gonna be enough?" Buffy asked.

"What's not gonna be enough?" Harry asked, joining them with several others of their group.

"Oh nothing." Buffy said flippantly, "Slayer stuff."

"Oh come on, tell." Harry whined.

"Nu-uh. Topsecret." Buffy stuck out her tongue.

"Oh mature B." Faith chuckled. Buffy elbowed her fellow slayer, but nodded seriously,

"Really, it's nothing. We'll just clear up here and see you guys at dinner, ok?"

Harry frowned, clearly not impressed, but he didn't argue.

"Fine." He said, and led the group out.

"He knows something major is up." Faith stated. Buffy nodded slowly,

"He's smart."

"It's more than that B… from what I hear, that kid has had his fair share of trouble… wouldn't surprise me if he could feel it just like us."

"He's not a slayer, Faith." Buffy said dryly.

"No. But he _is_ a hero."

Down in the Great Hall, Harry was poking his food moodily. Both his best friends knew he was annoyed that Buffy didn't deem him cleared for slayer business, and even if he wouldn't believe it, both of them knew exactly how he felt- how many times had they been left out of the loop on things? Hermione especially was absolutely certain that there were things Dumbledore had told Harry last year that Harry wouldn't tell them unless he absolutely _had _to. It hurt.

"It's just because she doesn't want to worry you." She said, knowing it would make little difference.

"Yeah right. I know something's up- her not telling me anything makes me worry more!" Harry snapped. "Why doesn't she just…"

"Because she's the slayer!" Hermione exclaimed in a whisper, finally at the end of her tether. "Damn it, Harry! You are not a bloody super hero, and enough trouble finds you all by itself without you actively seeking it out! Buffy must have her reasons for not telling you stuff, just as you have reasons for not telling _us_ what Dumbledore told you last summer! So lay off it! Ok?"

The group all starred at her, open mouthed, Ron looked very impressed, and Harry's expression was somewhere between fury, astonishment, indignance, sorrow, fear… it was pretty much every emotion you can think of, all squashed together into one to suit all the thoughts and memories that rant bought to mind. He seemed to be trying to say something, but it was as if he couldn't decide which bit to address first. Just as he appeared to be about to finally get something out, Buffy appeared, plonked herself down next to George, and said,

"Whats goin' on?" Which served to shatter the tension like a trolls hammer on a sheet of glass.

"Nothing." Harry breathed. Buffy shrugged, pecked George on the cheek, and said,

"So what's for dinner?"

"What're you reading?" Amity asked Faith in the Slytherin common room that evening. Faith started, shocked out of her contribution to the research,

"Oh, hey Ami… I… its really nothing. Extra… DADA."

"Yeah right. Cos I'm gonna buy that." Faith choked a sort of half laugh of panic and disbelief. Amity shook her head, "I'm not gonna ask you to tell me anything, but it doesn't take an auror to notice that the whole Potter crew has spent the entire day in the library, and you and Buffy have been scouring the school… something is going on- I don't pretend to have a clue what, but something… and if there's anything I can do to help, then I want to."

Faith stared at her a moment, then passed her a book,

"Look for any reference to seven hearts."

"Seven hearts?" Amity repeated with a grimace.

"Yup. And you said you wouldn't ask."

"I wont." Amity grinned, sitting in the next armchair and opening the book.

It was midnight before the two Slytherin's finally dropped the books in a pile, and headed to bed, utterly exhausted, and no closer to their goal. Amity was dumbfounded by all the information she had just read about demons and spells, but kept to her promise- she would not ask why Faith was looking through it all. She had seen the fear in her friend's eyes the last time that had happened, and it wasn't something she was keen to see again any time soon.

"G'night." She murmured as she headed for the stairs.

"Night." Faith replied. She went back to her room through the common room door, and flopped onto her bed. For a while she just lay there, thousands of new demon fact buzzing around in her head… but always, just at the back of her mind, was the memory of the night before, and the dream she had had, because of course, she had lied to Buffy when she said she was alone in her dream.

It replayed over and over as it had all day, nagging at her…

_"Hello!? Is anyone there?"_

_"I'm here." Said the voice behind her. She turned, and smiled a little unsteadily. "I'll always be here." He said._

_"No, you wont." She replied sadly._

_"I will if you want me to be." He replied, taking a step closer and smoothing a strand of hair back off her face. He gently guided her forward, and kissed her, so softly she thought she might melt…_

_"Xander..." She whispered. _

Meanwhile, in the shrieking shack, a group of deathly white men in black suits gathered. In the centre of their circle, on a small table, sat a small, cube-shaped box. One stepped forwards, and opened it, while the others applauded almost silently.

Throughout Hogwarts, and down in Hogsmeade, whitish mist left the sleeping witches and wizards in a short, sharp breath.

_Can't even shout, can't even cry, the gentlemen are coming by._

_ Lookin' in windows, knocking on doors,_

_ They need to take seven and they might take yours._

_Can't call to mom_

_Can't say a word_

You're going to die screaming but you wont be heard… 

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I'll update as soon as I can. Thank you all for sticking with me! Please review!

-Sam


	59. Hush: Hogwarts style!

Heya people! Sorry I'm taking so long between each post- I've actually been stressed out recently, which believe me is saying something. But now I've dropped Chem so I should hopefully have a little more time! Yey.

Soo, anyway… I'm glad that you're all excited about me using 'Hush'- I hope I can do it some sort of justice, and I'm really really, truly sorry if I don't- it's very hard to write stuff like this without speech!

Des Felidrayes- a 'tonne' is a metric tonne. I'm English, therefore it's tonne. And Faith didn't dream of Fred because she and Fred are not an item in any way. Like she said over and over- it meant nothing.

ABeckyboo1973- Yes, Year 13 is like 12 grade. I guess our yr1 equates to kindergarten.

…And Chancing Faith- I said, Year 13, as in the last year of school, as in im 17 goin on 18… not 13 years old. Lol.

Matt- I'll try to update Child of the Key as I've said before- thanks for not giving up on it.

Kyra2- Yes Xander is currently with Anya, but please tell me you didn't miss the whole Xander/Faith ness? He got with Anya AFTER Faith shut him down doing her whole cold as ice act.

Elsawriter- Argh, UCAS. I should so fill that form in…

And now on with the story. Not a hugely long chapter, but hey, I had to stop it were I do. grins Enjoy.

Angel of Ravenclaw, the title is for you!

Chapter 59- Hush: Hogwarts Style!

Buffy stretched luxuriously, yawning widely. Monday morning. She thought- a whole new week. Maybe things wouldn't be as bad as she was expecting. As she got up and showered, she was thinking through what she had planned- a session with McGonogall this morning, third year defence in the evening, leaving the afternoon for patrolling, or research… definitely _not_ for sitting around with George, she told herself. She smiled softly, and sang a little ditty as she began to get dressed… or she tried to. Nothing came out. Buffy cough, clearing her throat, and tried again. Nothing. Now this was not good.

Down in the Slytherin area, Faith was slouching around, singing the last thing on her mind as she tugged on her dreaded uniform and attempted to tame her hair. A quick application of her trademark dark make-up, and she entered the common room, to find what would have been called uproar if there were a soundtrack. Students were racing around, some girls crying, some boys fighting, but the one thing that was evident was- _none of them could speak_. Faith frowned, and opened her mouth to call for a bit of calm… she frowned deeper. One word passed through her mind. She didn't usually use it- it was one of those she generally thought of as 'English' words, but in this instance, it just seemed to fit.

_Bugger._

She clapped her hands, and no one paid any attention. She waved her hands around, but no one looked. A little passed annoyed now, she returned to her room, and grabbed the discman Buffy had leant her, containing a heavy metal CD she had got off Harry- apparently he'd borrowed it from Oz. She turned the volume up to full, held the headphones in the air, and started a carefully selected track.

A high pitched, ear splitting electric guitar chord cut through the silence of the common room. This time, no one could help but notice her. She switched it off, and smiled with satisfaction. But now what did she do with them? She pulled the two fighting boys apart, and gestured for everyone to sit down. At first they just gaped at her, wondering why they should listen to her. She smiled a little evilly, and held up the headphones again. Everyone sat down, whether in seats, on steps, tables or on the floor. She nodded again. A moment later, Amity appeared from the girls staircase, and ran to Faith's side,

"You ok?" She mouthed. Faith nodded. "Why didn't you answer?" Amity continued, over exaggerating every syllable. Faith frowned, shaking her head. Amity rapped on her bedroom door, and Faith understood. She smirked, and pointed at her watch. Amity laughed, but soon stopped, for it was just eerie when no sound came out. Faith bit her lip.

"Stay here." She mouthed, "Keep them calm." She gestured to the students filling the room. Amity frowned slightly, but nodded, getting the gist. As Faith turned to leave, Amity grabbed her arm, pulling her back round. She pointed to their pile of books from the night before, a question in her eyes. Faith's own eyes widened, and she nodded slowly. "Make them stay here." She mouthed, gesturing with both hands, palms down, making downward sweeps. Amity nodded,

"Ok." She mouthed, but didn't look happy. "Be careful." She mouthed. Faith forced a smile, and left the room.

The Gryffindor common room was chaos. Buffy, 'Snuffles', Harry and his group were standing in the centre of a human storm, and they had no idea how to attract the attention of so many people when shouting was out. Clapping had no effect; stamping or banging on things did less. Several people had got out their wands with an idea of a spell that could be useful before realising they couldn't say the incantation. Buffy was thoroughly fed up. Suddenly, she found that Snuffles was nosing at them all, trying to get them to move backwards. They did as he suggested, eventually ending up in a cluster against one wall. Snuffles then pushed in so that he was behind them all, and shifted back to his human form, hidden by the human wall. He stuck two fingers in his mouth, and whistled loudly- something that need no voice, only breath. The loud, unexpected noise finally attracted the students' attention, and Buffy stood on a chair as Sirius returned to dog form. Buffy used the same motions Faith had to get the kids to sit down, only unlike Faith, the students did as she ordered without question as they knew her to be an almost-teacher, and respected her skills. She took a piece of parchment Harry handed her, and a big black marker Hermione had, and wrote,

KEEP CALM

Across the parchment, holding it up for all to see. Then,

SIT DOWN

And shrugged, indicating a chess set nearby, and a pile of books, then finally,

STAY HERE!!

And gave them all a look that they knew meant the last was the most important. She then climbed down and wrote, for the group,

Im going to see Dumbledore. Stay here.

And underlined the last two words three times. Harry frowned, grabbing her arm, and pointing at the piece of parchment with the rhyme on, specifically the 'you're gonna die screaming.' Buffy smiled, and kissed him on the forehead,

"I'll be fine." She mouthed. "Stay here, ok?"

Harry shook his head.

"_Stay._" She repeated, glancing at Hermione and Ron, knowing only they could get him to do as she said. She nodded, and left.

The two slayers found each other half way to Dumbledore's. Each nodded to the other, and that was all that was needed. When they had almost reached the headmaster's office they head running feet behind them, and turned to see Fred and George, white as sheets, legging it down the corridor. George immediately hugged Buffy, then kissed her, then grabbed her hand and kept running. Buffy stopped him, mouthing,

"What!?" He pointed back the way they had come, just as two of the pale men and a pair of …things… in straitjackets rounded the corner. The four of them ran the rest of the distance, and found themselves confronted with the dilemma of the gargoyle. They looked to each other in panic, glancing back at the apparent demons every now and again. They were closing in. Buffy hammered on the wall, but it only hurt her fist.

"DUMBLEDORE!!" She cried, even though she knew it wouldn't help.

"Shit." Faith mouthed. She ran at the four invaders, snap kicking one of the men in the face. He fell back. A spin took down the other one, but they got up just as quick. The two things in strait jackets, leapt at her, grabbing at her arms and legs. She kicked and flailed, but the things were strong. They held her fast, while the pale men leant over her. She kicked out, knocking one back again, who fell against the wall, is head cracking back against the stone. This got Buffy's attention. She and the twins rushed the demons too, and the four of them managed to hold them back, but they didn't seem to weaken at all, and even when Buffy shoved a stake through one of their chests, it seemed barely affected. They shared astonished, worried looks, but kept fighting- what else could they do?

Suddenly, their attackers flew off them, and when the four teens looked to see who their rescuer was, they saw Dumbledore standing there, one hand raised, and his expression more furious than any of them had ever seen it. He gestured for them to follow him, and they hurried up the spiral stairs to his office, the wall closing up again behind them.

In the circular office, the five of them stood round with grim expressions.

"What the hell is going on?" Fred mouthed.

"I do not know." Dumbledore wrote in the air with his wand, silver ribbons spelling out the words. How the other three wished they could do things like that without an incantation.

"My dream." Buffy mouthed. She pulled out a piece of parchment with the rhyme on, passing it to Dumbledore. The old wizard frowned, pointing to the 'they need to take seven' part. Buffy tapped her chest,

"Hearts." She mouthed. Dumbledore's eyes widened, and Buffy had the strangest feeling that had it been Giles, he would just have mouthed 'dear lord'. George was shaking his head. He grabbed the bit of parchment, and a quill from the desk, and wrote,

How do we kill them?

Buffy curled her fingers around, and made jabbing motions up and down. Faith smirked, raising one eyebrow, while the boys just gaped and Dumbledore looked a little embarrassed. Buffy frowned at them, until her expression changed from confusion to horrified realisation. She grabbed a stake from her pocket, and repeated the gesture with the stake in her fist. Faith chuckled silently, and the others made 'ooh' faces. Then Fred shook his head and pointed to the door, then wrote,

You staked that one- he didn't die.

Buffy once again pointed to her heart, and shook her head- she hadn't got his heart. But Faith was unsatisfied. She frowned, and made what Buffy could only guess was a vampire face.

"They're not vamps!" Faith mouthed. Buffy sighed, and nodded in resignation. She put her flat palms together, and opened them like a book, with one eyebrow raised. Both Faith and the twins grimaced, but nodded- more research was needed.

Suddenly, an owl flew through the window. Dumbledore retrieved the letter it was carrying, and the four teenagers could only watch as his eyes got darker and darker. He handed the letter to Buffy, and she passed it to the others. The gist of it was that the same thing was going on in Hogsmeade… and a man was dead. His heart cut from his chest. Buffy covered her face with her hands, drawing them slowly down in despair and thought.

Return to the Gryffindor common room.

Dumbledore wrote in the air. But Faith shook her head- she wanted to go back to the Slytherin one. Dumbledore knew what she was thinking, but shook his head back,

Go with Buffy for now.

He told her. She frowned, but nodded. Dumbledore led them down the spiral stairs.

Meanwhile, Hermione, Harry, Ron and the others were trying to keep peace in the common room. It was proving to be very hard work. Hermione tried to continue researching, but had a nagging feeling that she had missed something. She _knew_ that she wasn't looking in the right place, and it was really starting to piss her off. So she sat starring at the rhyme, willing the answer to come to her. At about the same time that Dumbledore got the letter, someone tapped Hermione on the shoulder. She turned to the second year girl with a curious frown. She was looking at the piece of paper. Hermione cocked her head to one side, and scribbled down,

Have you seen this before?

The girl nodded, and wrote.

It's a fairy tale. I don't remember what happens, but I always remembered that rhyme.

Hermione's eyes flew wide. A fairy tale, of course! She looked for Ron and Harry, and saw that they were attempting to break up yet another fist fight, Sirius standing near them looking as worried as a dog can. She considered the situation, then turned to the girl with a smile,

"Thanks." She mouthed, and headed for the portrait hole.

Hermione ran down the corridors towards the library, praying that she wouldn't bump into Buffy- she'd be furious. Or, for that matter, these 'gentlemen' whatever they were. She reached the library with no obstacles, and rushed to the 'recreational' section. She skimmed through the titles, eventually finding one on fairy tales. She yanked the huge book off the shelf, and grimaced at the grotesque picture of some sort of goblin on the front. She opened the book to the contents page, and smiled.

'The Gentlemen.'

However her smile faltered when she found the illustrated story. It was horrible. She found bile rising in her throat, and tingles of unease flowing down her spine. But it was what they needed. She picked up the book, and left the library, heading back towards the common room.

As Hermione passed a corridor leading off the one she was on, she could have sworn she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She did a double take, glancing back around the corner. Her eyes widened at they met those of a tall, deathly white man with a sickening grin and a pristine suit. She fled.

"Shit shit shit." She mouthed as she ran, clinging to the book and trying desperately to ignore the patter of the straight jacketed ones' feet as they gambolled along. Hermione knew they were getting closer, but dared not check. Suddenly she was hit hard from behind, one of them leaping at her back. She let out a silent scream as she lost her grip on the book. He rolled her over and grabbed her arm. She screamed again as the other one took her other arm and the taller, slower one approached, one hand twiddling a very sharp looking scalpel. Hermione was screaming at the top of her lungs, struggling helplessly and trying to strike out at the demons holding her. But it was no good, they were just too strong.

------------

See what I mean? How could I not leave it there? grins

One note before any of you say it- the discman _would_ work in Hogwarts. It is battery powered and doesn't involve any signals, which is what Hermione says are interfered with. Remember how Harry has a watch til he jumps in the lake? Battery powered! And it does work in the school. Sorry, that's something that annoys me sometimes.

Please review!!


	60. Under Attack

Heya people!! 

I loved all your reactions to the cliffie- I got called evil, cruel, ebil, and… buttmonkey…??

Spoiler908760-698- I know some people can do wordless magic- thus why Dumbledore and the other teachers are able to still do some, but it's only pretty powerful wizards. Hermione, how ever clever she is, is still just a student, so no, neither she, nor Harry or any of them can do wordless magic.

Laura- grins Heehee.

Accursed Muffin- Buttmonkey?? You called me a buttmonkey??? And yes, I live in England, so I _can_ drop chem. Haha. :P

ChancingFaith- Yr 13 is equivalent to 12th grade in the states. It's the last year of school.

Soo, on with the chapter, which is quite a long one!!

Enjoy!!

Chapter 60- Under attack 

_Suddenly she was hit hard from behind, one of them leaping at her back. She let out a silent scream as she lost her grip on the book. He rolled her over and grabbed her arm. She screamed again as the other one took her other arm and the taller, slower one approached, one hand twiddling a very sharp looking scalpel. Hermione was screaming at the top of her lungs, struggling helplessly and trying to strike out at the demons holding her. But it was no good, they were just too strong._

----

"NO!" Hermione wailed, though no sound came out. Her arms hurt they were held so tight, and as she twisted and writhed she was sure she was hurting herself more. The demon advanced, his fixed grin glinting as his fingers twitched about the scalpel, as if he just couldn't wait to do his work. She tried to kick out, but was kept on her knees by the straight-jacket guys. She screamed again, tears flowing freely down her face as she silently sobbed. He leant down, his free hand clawing at her robes to pull them out of the way. She wrenched and cried out and fought for all she was worth, but couldn't get free. It was over. She was going to die. This beast would rip away her shirt next, and then cut open her chest. She was finished.

THWACK!

In these circumstances, when all Hermione's screaming had yielded no sound, the almighty crack of a huge, hardback book hitting the side of a skull sounded like a clap of thunder. The demon toppled to the side, the scalpel clattering across the floor, and Hermione gaped up at Draco Malfoy, whose eyes were wide and wild. He hefted the book again, thumping the demon to Hermione's right. With her now free arm, she punched the other in the face as hard as she possibly could. Then Malfoy was pulling her up right, and they were running, the book tucked under one of his arms.

Although Hermione had no sense at all of where they were going, it wasn't long before they reached the Fat Lady's portrait and stopped. The two teens looked at each other, Hermione's face streaked with make-up colours tears, her robes and the very top of her shirt ripped open, and Draco with ruffled hair, wide eyes and red cheeks from exertion, and both of them grabbing deep ragged breaths after their run. For a moment they were still, but then Draco stepped forwards, and Hermione was sure he was going to kiss her again… and she wasn't sure that she would resist… but instead, he pulled her into his arms, squeezing her tight with his face pressed into her hair. She hugged back, bewildered by the feeling of disappointment that settled in her gut. As they pulled away, Draco smoothed a strand of hair off her face, gazing for a moment into her dark eyes with a wistful smile. Then as one, they turned to the portrait. The fat lady looked distraught, and it seemed that she had no more voice than they. Hermione mouthed the password, but she shook her head. Hermione frowned, glancing back towards the corner where she knew the demons would soon appear.

"Please!" She cried to no avail. Then she had a thought. She stuck her hand inside her torn robes and pulled out a small black pencil. Draco frowned as she wrote on her hand in the eyeliner, and showed it to the fat lady. She seemed to weigh it up, but then swung open. Hermione stepped forwards, but found resistance in Draco's hand that she didn't even realise she'd been holding. He shook his head. Hermione's eyes went wider as the demons finally appeared, and she yanked his hand, pulling him through into Gryffindor domain moments before the door slammed closed once more.

The first thing Hermione was aware of was a tall redhead flying at Malfoy. She yelled,

"NO!" But of course this had no effect. Ron collided with Malfoy and they crashed into the wall. Hermione managed to grab his arm before he landed a punch, but couldn't pull her boyfriend off until Harry helped, which he was reluctant to do, but understood that Malfoy wasn't in the wrong. Ron finally backed down, looking instead to Hermione with great pain in his eyes. He took in her state, and hugged her close, protectively. She held him back, clinging to the comforting warmth of his body. She could _feel_ Malfoy's eyes on them, and felt a twinge of… what was that? Regret? Guilt? Pity? She couldn't really tell.

When she and Ron separated, she felt Harry's hand on her arm, and looked to him- his eyes were full of worry and question,

"What happened?" He mouthed. It was only then that she considered what she must look like by now. She wiped her face with her hands, but only succeeded in smudging the smears more. She forced a smile, and took the book from Draco, flicking to the right page and pointing at the picture. Harry and Ron both gaped, and Hermione saw Ron's lips form the words

"_Bloody hell!"_

The line drawing showed the gentlemen in extraordinary detail, from their straight-jacketed minions to their sickly grins. Hermione found her hand coming to her chest as the boys read the passage, remembering how close she had come to being one of the seven. A comforting hand on her shoulder bought her back to the present, but it took her a moment to realise that it wasn't Ron's, or Harry's, but Malfoy's. He smiled softly, conveying in that one moment that he understood what she was thinking, and that she wasn't alone. She smiled back, and the two of them waited for the others to finish reading.

Harry looked up frowning, and pointed at his throat. Hermione knew exactly what he meant. The story went that the gentlemen would come to a town, and steal all the voices of the townspeople. They would then take seven hearts… it wasn't clear exactly why. However, it was said that no sword could kill them, but that once a princess screamed, and they all died. But… if no one has a voice, screaming was a problem.

--------------

Buffy, Faith, the twins and the headmaster continued along the corridors, watching out for gentlemen, and getting more and more agitated as the demons still did not appear. Then they turned into the hall before the Gryffindor common room, and saw several Gentlemen and their minions examining the portrait. They backed up quickly, not even Dumbledore wanting to confront the group, though his wordless spells could protect him to an extent at least. Buffy indicated her own portrait door, and waved to Fairfax. He nodded, but didn't open. Buffy made an exasperated gesture, but he could only shrug.

"Password." The painting mouthed. Buffy pouted. Dumbledore tapped her shoulder and wrote with his wand,

Your password?

"Summers." Buffy mouthed carefully. Dumbledore wrote it in the air, and Fairfax admitted them, grabbing the attention of the demons, but the group leapt through quickly, and the door slammed shut before the gentlemen could react. They entered the common room, and almost every eye turned to them- Dumbledore seemed to always have that affect. The ones who didn't notice them were the foursome near the main portrait hole, who were all leaning over a book, two of them looking very ruffled. Buffy hurried over immediately, Faith following slower, but curiously. What the hell was Malfoy doing up here? Buffy made her presence known by squeezing Harry's arm. She then looked around at them, frowning at Malfoy, but then seeing Hermione. Her eyes went wide, and the question was obvious. Hermione shrugged, and pointed at the book. While Buffy read, Faith tapped Malfoy on the shoulder and shrugged in question. He rolled his eyes- this whole no voice thing was getting damned tedious. He pointed to the book, then made a monster face, pointed at Hermione, then mimed thumping the demons over the head. Faith smirked in grim appreciation.

"You ok?" She mouthed to Hermione. The girl nodded, if stiffly. Buffy was looking uphappy. She passed the book to Faith, who soon had a similar expression as she passed it on to Dumbledore. Everyone watched him intently as he read. He finally raised his head with a thoughtful expression.

Voices kill them.

He wrote in the air. The group nodded, but looked no more pleased. Except for Faith- her eyes flew wide, and she looked excited, pulling the disc man she'd used earlier from her pocket. She held it up, then covered her ears, miming a loud noise. But several of them shook their heads.

Only real voices.

Dumbledore wrote. Faith pouted, and shrugged sullenly, pocketing the personal stereo. Buffy frowned, and held out her hand. Faith rolled her eyes and handed the discman over, having promised to give it back weeks ago.

Dumbledore was regarding the many students who were now watching the group curiously, and indicated to Buffy that they should return to her room. They did so, followed closely by both 'snuffles' and Ginny Weasley.

The first thing that Dumbledore did was write a message to Fairfax, asking him to spread the news around the school, and to tell teachers, in any way he could, to make their way to common rooms to restore order and protect the children. Then he turned back to the group, who had arranged themselves on the sofas, Sirius returning to his human form, and reading the story with Ginny.

Buffy stuck up her hand to get everyone's attention, and wrote on a piece of parchment-

Why here? The one place people would have magic to fight them off?

The others considered this, and it was Harry who nervously raised his hand. Buffy threw him the pen and parchment, and he scribbled one word,

Voldemort.

Buffy grimaced, knowing that her brother was probably right. Ron and Hermione were frowning, and Hermione raised her hands in a gesture that said simply,

How?

And they all knew she meant how was this going to help Voldemort? Was he just hoping they'd pick Harry? Or had he sent them specifically to get Harry? Somehow the latter didn't seem to fit the story.

It was then that Fairfax reappeared, looking frantic. He jumped around to get their attention, and then pointed to the window. The group ran over, and several of them gasped.

Down at the main gate, they could see several gentlemen standing as if on guard- but that wasn't the shocking thing. This was that a steady stream of people in black cloaks with white masks was passing through. Buffy looked to Dumbledore and saw his eyes were wide in shock and fury. He was moving in moments. He wrote rapid words Buffy couldn't follow to Fairfax, before pointing to Buffy, and then to the Gryffindor common room-

"Protect them." He mouthed. Then Faith,

"Slytherin." He mouthed. She nodded. Then he indicated the rest of the group, and gestured for them to follow him as he headed for Buffy's main door. Buffy ran after him, indicating Harry, but the Headmaster shook his head, and pointed to the common room again. He placed a hand on Harry's shoulder,

"I'll protect him." He mouthed. Buffy shook her head, but knew she wasn't going to win the argument. George stepped forward, clearly wanting to stay with Buffy, but she shook her head. She kissed him deeply, but told him with her eyes that he _had_ to go with Dumbledore. He nodded sadly, and stepped back. She turned to Faith,

"You be ok?" She asked. The brunette nodded, and mouthed,

"Five by five." She followed Dumbledore and the students out, and set off at a dead run to evade the gentlemen. Buffy retrieved a few things from the trunk at the end of her bed, and returned to the common room- this time she didn't need to do anything to get their attention. The crossbow and axe pretty much did that for her.

Dumbledore marched along the corridor with the group in tow. He had temporarily knocked the demons outside the common room back, but his wordless magic had its limits. Harry and the others wondered desperately where they were being lead. Eventually they came to a long corridor, and Harry was bewildered as Dumbledore began walking up and down. Then Harry's eyes flew wide- of course! He knew exactly where they were! Hermione was smiling too.

The room of requirement.

The door appeared, and Dumbledore lead them in. The teenagers' eyes flew wide, their jaws dropping. The room looked amazing- sofas and armchairs, a table laden with food and drink, chess set out to one side, packs of cards, books… Dumbledore clapped his hands to get their attention and wrote two words-

Stay here.

Then he backed out again and closed the door. Harry literally threw himself at the door, trying to stop Dumbledore, but it was too late. The door slammed shut and they all saw that instead of a regular door it was now a huge, heavy cast iron thing that frankly looked like the door to a vault. Harry slammed a fist against it furiously. Then he stood back, thinking hard about the door returning to normal- _I require the door to open_ He thought. But nothing changed. He let out an angry yell, but of course no one heard it. Ron pulled him back from the door, shaking his head. He gestured to the sofas and food, and Harry squeezed his eyes shut frustratedly. Hermione picked up a piece of parchment that was lying on a side table, and wrote,

She'll be fine. You know she can handle them.

Harry shook his head, and wrote,

The demons- yes. Voldemort- no! So she's a slayer, but she's only been a witch for a few months!

Draco, sitting a little apart from them could never the less read this, and his eyebrows went sky high.

"Bloody hell." He mouthed. Hermione's head snapped up, and she bit her lip, cursing silently. Harry followed her gaze and Draco saw his jaw set in warning. Draco raised his hands in surrender- he wouldn't say a word even if he could. Hermione smiled thankfully, but Harry still looked suspicious and Draco got the impression that Harry's reaction last year on the quidditch pitch would be nothing compared to what he would do if Draco betrayed Buffy's secret.

---------------

Faith ran full pelt towards the Slytherin common room. She managed to knock a couple of demons down simply by surprising them as she raced past. As she passed through the entrance hall she could hear voices outside. She knew that in moments the death eaters would be inside. She skidded down into the dungeon corridors as she heard the voices begin in echo in the cavernous entrance. She got to the Slytherin entrance- a bare strip of wall within which the door was concealed… how was she to get in!? She continued along to her own door, where Madame Burness looked down on her with a disapproving glare.

"Lemme in." Faith mouthed. She merely raised an eyebrow. "It's me! You _know_ it's me! Please!" She glanced over her shoulder, hearing voices approaching down the hall. She mouthed her password, but Burness still just frowned. Faith thought back to what Dumbledore had done, and stuck her hands in her robe pockets- tissue, old scrap of parchment, wand, lipstick… She grinned, and pulled out the deep red lipstick. She wrote the password on her hand and showed it to the portrait, who finally swung open. Once inside, Faith took just a moment to breath, before heading through to the common room… where she froze.

Snape was standing in the midst of all the students, his wand pointed right at the newcomer. She raised both her eyebrows and her hands, and unbelievably, Snape looked relieved. He crossed the room to her and wrote in the way Dumbledore had-

What's happening?

"Demons and deatheaters." Faith mouthed. "They're right outside."

The school?

"The door." She pointed to the concealed entrance and the potions professor's eyes widened. Then he frowned, and Faith knew what he was thinking- why were they down here? It was surely Potter they wanted… so why were some being sent to the Slytherin room? Just then there was a crash as something slammed into the wall, and the students looked as if they had tried to scream, hurrying away from the front wall. Amity approached Faith worriedly,

"Draco?" She mouthed.

"Gryffindor." Faith mouthed back. Amity nodded, clearly relieved.

"You ok?"

Faith nodded, but looked around at the gathered students- she had a nasty feeling that that wall would not hold forever, and when they got in… well who knows what they might do?

------------

Buffy, in the Gryffindor common room, was just as worried. She knew that sooner or later they would find Harry, and she was still no closer to working out how to stop them. McGonogall arrived, looking flustered, and managed to get the students to calm a little, though it was quite a chore to keep them away from the window as seeing the deatheaters and demons on guard tended to set off the hysteria all over again. It was while standing by the window however, that Buffy saw something that set her thinking- a pair of gentlemen, along with their minions, headed towards the huge whomping willow. One of the minions ventured under to touch the root that froze the tree, and the gentlemen made their way down. Buffy's jaw dropped- they were going into the shrieking shack.

As deatheaters pounded on the portrait door, Buffy was glad that it was embued with powerful magics, but knew it wouldn't hold. She had to do something, and she had to do it _now_. Finally she nodded to herself, and got McGonogall's attention.

Look after these guys, ok?

McGonogall frowned, shaking her head as she shrugged in question,

"Where are you going?"

Buffy pointed out of the window to the huge tree. McGonogall shook her head again,

"No."

Buffy just nodded, pointing to the portrait hole where the crashes were sounding worse by the minute. McGonogall folded, and Buffy headed to her room to stock up on weapons.

She took several stakes as well as the axe and crossbow she already had and her wand, just in case. She pulled on her long leather jacket and went to her portrait door. She took a deep breath, and pushed it open, setting off running immediately to get out of the way of the demons and deatheaters who waited outside the common room. Whenever she did come across an intruder in the corridors, she laid them out, or at least slowed them down as much as possible, and kept running.

Back at the Gryffindor common room, they heard a horrible crack, and McGonogall gaped at the door. She clapped her hands and pointed to the girls' stairs. The students fled, girls hurrying up, but the boys looked confused- they couldn't go up the girls' stairs. McGonogall pointed her wand at the stairs and closed her eyes hopefully, then repeat the motion. The boys followed, the stairs letting them up. McGonogall breathed a sigh of relief and allowed the spell to return to normal. She stood and faced the door, the large black dog beside her.

--------------

The walls were shaking now- they were getting through. Snape and Faith looked to each other in worry, any dislike or rivalry forgotten for now. Snape got the students' attention, and gestured for them all to return to their dormitories. Amity shook her head at Faith,

"No way." She mouthed.

"Go!" Faith mouthed back, pointing to the stairs. Amity pointed at her friend and shrugged angrily- why wasn't she going? Faith just shook her head, she didn't have time for this. "GO!"

Amity crossed her arms in stubborn refusal. It was right then that the wall exploded and demons and deatheaters burst in. Amity's eyes went wide, and Faith shoved her back behind her, falling into a fighting stance.

"Slayer." Said a death eater. "The Dark Lord sends his regards."

---------------------

You likey? Please review!!

-Sam


	61. Screaming, screaming, and oh, some more ...

Hey guys- lookie, fast update!! :D AND I updated Child of the Key! Aren't you proud? Ooh, and on that note, seeing as pretending I'll update it again soon is totally pointless, I'll say – matt, I _know_ you asked loads of times, and I did try then, I swear!! But I had nothing worth posting. Then a while ago, I reread a load of it and managed to write a decent amount, and that's why I updated this time round. So it was no shun to you, I promise!!

Now back to this story…

Halric the harmless- Erm, I thought about the whole deatheaters voices thing, but it's only really screaming that kills them, and as you will see, I don't completely ignore the fact that raised voices would piss the gentlemen off grins evilly

Phoenix83ad- Draco. Ah dear Draco. I wondered whether to say anything, but I decided that as I've tried to make it clear that Draco is technically a good guy, theres no harm in it. I understand completely what you're saying, and I am trying very hard to keep him spike-ish and mean to everyone else while being nicer to Herm for reasons I've been through before- its more a respect deal than anything else. So please just don't get annoyed if he's good??

And one more comment, I have to say that my favourite review of all was from naiya-isis:

Oh shit!

Lol. Very constructive, I thought. :D

Thank ye all very much for withstanding, or possibly scrolling over, my babbling…

Enjoy

Chapter 61- Screaming, screaming and… oh, some more screaming!

Buffy practically flew down the steps, and crashed into a huge hulking figure. She stumbled, but was supported by strong arms. She looked up to see the huge, hairy and bewildered face of Rubeus Hagrid. She hugged him round the waist, and pointed to the whomping Willow. He considered a moment, and then turned with her, hurrying across the grass.

----------

The portrait finally shattered, and the enemy piled into the Gryffindor common room where all they could see was a cat sitting on one of the sofas, and a large dog on the floor beside it.

"Find the boy." The lead death eater snapped to his colleagues. Then to the gentlemen, "Find the other kids. Check the dorms."

A group ran up the boys' stairs, but came down with nothing but frowns. So they tried the girls' stairs, only to find that they became a slide and spat them back out. The leader roared in anger, and the Gentlemen winced, glaring at him.

"Keep yer knickers on." The deatheater snapped, "We'll get at 'em, and You'll 'ave yer 'earts." The head gentleman shook his head, the smile getting, if possible, creepier. Then he began to advance on the deatheater, and his fellows did the same. "What..? What the 'ell d'you think you're doin'? Ge' off! Get…" He yelled. But Voldemort had conveniently forgotten to tell them how to kill the gentlemen. And as a rule, Deatheaters didn't scream.

None of them noticed the Dog raising a paw to hold the cat back.

---------

Faith kicked out, sending the guy's wand flying, and following through with a punch that bloodied his face. Snape was wordlessly blasting a few of them, while the gentlemen filtered in with their creepy patience. Amity backed up against the wall, watching in awe as Faith leapt about the room taking out deatheaters without a second thought, even though she was unarmed. The slayer was trying desperately not to consider what her friend must be thinking, having heard what the deatheater just said, and now seeing this.

The gentlemen ignored Faith and Snape, and headed for the helpless girl all alone at the back off the room. Amity finally headed up the stairs, but one of the straight-jacketed minions grabbed her ankle. She tried to scream as she slipped, but of course it didn't help. The crash of her fall got her friend's attention, and Faith snap kicked a guy in the face before running to Amity's aid. She grabbed a huge text book on her way, and bought it down on the minion's head. He crumbled, and she shoved him away,

"Go." She mouthed to Amity. But Ami's eyes were wide as she starred over Faith's shoulder. The next thing Faith knew, her body was over taken by stabbing jolts of agonising pain. She fell to the ground, looking up blearily at the death eater who was watching her, wand raised.

"Pathetic." He hissed. Amity launched herself at him, but he hit her across the face almost carelessly, and she fell to the floor, unconscious. The gentlemen clapped, and moved towards her. "Leave her." The death eater snapped. "She could be useful." He turned away, but kept his wand trained on Faith as she writhed on the floor. "Bring him too. The Dark Lord will want to punish him personally."

Another death eater waved his wand at the now unconscious Potions teacher and he floated up. To the gentlemen, the leader said,

"The kids must be up there- they're all yours." He pointed to the stairs. Then he floated Amity, and stopped the spell on Faith. She immediately tried to jump up, but every muscle in her body protested, and the deatheater blasted her with the cruciatus again, as if to make a point. " Just don't bother." He said, and conjured ropes around her so tight she couldn't move. He smiled nastily down at her, "You're going to pay for your betrayal."

------------

Buffy put a finger to her lips as they crept down the tunnel, Hagrid barely fitting in the narrow space. They came up in the old house Buffy had heard so much about, and listened intently for any sound. When they heard nothing, the pair headed for the stairs, spotting scuffed trails in the dust that covered the floor. Just as Buffy reached the top, a loud creak sounded below and Hagrid looked very guilty. Buffy winced, and the pair rushed into the first room, not wanting to be caught with a disadvantage on the stairs. Buffy immediately floored the guy heading for the door to investigate, and the fight began, neither Buffy nor Hagrid entirely sure what they were to do. As they struggled with the demons, Buffy caught a glimpse of something that almost made her sick- seven jars on a table, two containing what were very definitely hearts. But in the centre of the macabre circle, sat something that made Buffy's eyes go wide. The box. She threw her current adversary off and dove for the table, only to be set upon by a pair of minions. She fought furiously, but they were so strong! As Hagrid threw the invincible demons around like quaffles, she reached out with one hand, desperately trying to reach the box, but only succeeded in pissing the demons off by knocking several jars off the table. Then she saw a way. Even as she punched one minion in the face, she kicked hard at a table leg, and the old rotten wood snapped, everything on the top clattering to the floor. The Gentlemen stopped to gape, and Buffy stamped down hard on the box. It shattered, and milky white mist flew out, one portion shooting straight into her mouth, another into Hagrid's, and the rest floated out of the window. Buffy sucked in a deep breath, and screamed. The gentlemen and their minions slapped their hands over their ears, looks of intense pain crossing their faces before their heads exploded.

"Ew." Buffy commented.

---------------

The mist came through the window, and dove down the animals' throats. McGonogall immediately changed into her human form, and screamed at the top of her lungs- something she actually found quite releasing. The demons' heads popped, and the deatheaters they were fighting, that is all but the one who lay dead on the ground, looked up in shock. The Dog changed too, a nasty grin forming on his face.

-------------

Faith wriggled as much as possible as she was carried over the deatheater's shoulder, through the school and down the front steps, Amity and Snape floating near by. Suddenly something hit the back of her throat, and her silent yells were given form.

"GET THE FUCK OF ME, SHIT-BRICK!" She cried. The sudden noise shocked the leader so much that he dropped her. When she got her breath back after hitting the ground, Faith screamed, taking out the gentlemen who'd accompanied the death eaters.

In the Slytherin dorms, the other gentlemen had just found their prey when their voices returned, and a whole room of teenage girls screamed their lungs out at them.

In no time at all, the entire school and some of the town was covered in demon slime and bodies, and the deatheaters were less than pleased.

"Shut her up and lets get out of here!" one yelled at the leader as he pointed at Faith. The leader kicked Faith hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her, and picked her up roughly.

"Go go go!" He cried. The group began running for the front gates, but to their astonishment, one of their number dropped with a yelp.

"No one harms anyone in my care." Bellowed a furious voice. The deatheaters quaked under the gaze of none other than Albus Dumbledore. Red light hit the one holding Faith, and she fell to the floor once more with a cry as the deatheater collapsed. The others fled, several getting stunned by the headmaster, but a few made it to the gates and disapparated. Dumbledore murmured something, and Faith's bonds fell away. "Are you alright?" He asked.

"Five by five." She said tiredly, making no attempt to even move. He moved on to Amity, who had dropped to the ground when the deatheaters ran. "Enervate." He said, pointing his wand at her. Her eyes fluttered open and he breathed a sigh of relief, "Are you alright child?"

"Yeah…" She said vaguely. Though the sound of her own voice snapped her fully awake. She focussed on the headmaster, eyes wide. "We can talk!"

"Yes." He smiled wryly, "We can."

"Head master… Faith, she…"

"Is just over there." He finished for her. She sat up quickly, and looked where he indicated. Faith raised one hand in a tired wave, and Amity chuckled. Dumbledore went on to Snape, waking him up.

"Severus?"

"Headmaster." He replied solemnly.

"You are alright?"

"Yes." He said bitterly, "But my position is decimated. I had to protect the students, and my cover is blown."

"Do not worry, old friend. We shall cross that bridge when we come to it."

"You ok?" Amity asked Faith.

"Five by five." She repeated.

"Which means no." Amity said. Faith rolled her eyes,

"I hate perceptive people." She growled.

"Can you sit up?"

"Not tried."

Amity laid a hand on Faith's shoulder, and took Faith's hand with her other. Faith sighed, and sat up slowly, wincing. "That dude had quite some kick." She groaned. "But I'll live." She added. With Ami's help, she managed to stand. She looked down at the unconscious deatheater, and kicked him, sticking out her tongue, "See how you like it." She murmured. Amity chuckled, but both knew it was half hearted. Faith knew what her friend had seen and heard. All she didn't know was whether Amity knew what it meant.

"Faith!" Came a cry from across the lawn. Buffy and Hagrid jogged up, and the other slayer raised a hand in greeting,

"Lemme guess, you're the princess?"

Buffy smiled,

"You ok?"

"Wont be if anyone else asks me that." Faith replied.

Buffy looked around, frowning,

"Why were you all out here?" She asked.

"They grabbed us." Faith replied.

"You, Ami and Snape?" Buffy confirmed. Faith nodded. Amity knew something was passing between them, but didn't ask.

"We must return inside." Dumbledore said. He and Snape had bound all the deatheaters, and they were floating nearby. "And I believe we may need to pay Mr Filch some over time." He added with a grimace at the demon remains. "Miss Black, ('Faith!' snapped Faith) you should perhaps go to the hospital wing?"

"Not happening DumbleD."

"I thought not." He sighed.

--------------------

Buffy went straight to the room of requirement. She was hit by a Harry missile as soon as she entered, and hugged her brother tight,

"Whoa, cool it!" She laughed.

"You did it." He said.

"Course I did." She shrugged, grinning. "You lot ok?"

They all nodded, and George took his turn hugging her, then kissed her, and the others groaned and headed out for the common room.

"I'll just…" Draco pointed a thumb over his shoulder when they reached the Gryffindor common room. Hermione paused while the others climbed over the wreckage to get in, Ron making some raucous comment about the state of the remaining deatheaters.

"Malfoy… wait." She said. He swallowed. "I never got a chance to properly thank you."

"For what?"

"Your help- about the hearts, and then when they attacked me… you saved my life… again."

He shrugged,

"It was nothing."

"Yes is was." She said, frustrated. "Look… I…" She sighed, "About before… I freaked because I'd never thought of you that way, and because I'm with Ron. I _love_ Ron. And… and because I _was_ tempted."

He looked utterly shocked.

"Of course I was." She continued. "Who wouldn't be? You're good looking, strong, clever, good at quidditch, and a total bad boy… but… Malfoy… _Draco…_" She sighed again, and smirked as she thought of the perfect line. She heard it in movie last summer. "Girls flirt with the dangerous guy, but it's the good guy they take home. I'm with Ron."

"I know." He replied stonily, starring at some spot on the wall behind her.

"But I _do_ like you. However insane that is… Can we be friends?"

"You're a Gryffindor mudblood know-it-all!" He cried. But then flashed her a brilliant smile, "So why not?"

Hermione laughed, and hugged him, which shocked him even more.

"Thanks." She said, and kissed him on the cheek.

"Go wash up, Granger." He said grinning, "You look like shit."

"Oh thanks." She said. He raised an eyebrow, and turned away. Hermione chuckled, and turned back to where the portrait should have been. (the fat lady was bawling in the next painting along) She climbed through, and grimaced, "Oh my god!" She gasped.

"Yes, yes, please- go to your rooms and stay there." McGonogall was saying. Instead, they were all strangely transfixed by the body of the dead deatheater, and the many dead demons. Sirius was tying up the other, unconscious deatheaters with a broad grin.

"You lot ok?" He asked.

"Fine. We got locked in a room." Harry scoffed. Sirius chuckled,

"Well I got to party with pussy cat here."

Fred grinned,

"Animagi united."

"Speaking of which, you should be snuffles again rather soon, Sirius." McGonogall said, "It wouldn't do to have the students see you."

"Yeah." Sirius sighed, deflated.

"They're all in the girl's dorms if you'd like to tell them everything is ok, Hermione." McGonogall then suggested, "But keep them upstairs until things are… tidied…"

"Yes Professor."

"Ah… in fact…" McGonogall said, looking Hermione over for a second time, "Miss Granger, perhaps you should go to the hospital wing?"

"Oh, no, I'm fine, really- Draco got to me just in time."

"Uh, yeah, what _was_ that about? How'd he just happen to find you?" Ron suddenly said as they headed for the stairs.

"I don't know, Ron." Hermione sighed.

"Bit of a coincidence that he just _happened_ to be there, y'know _with_ the demons."

"Yeah, just in time to whack them over the heads." Hermione retorted.

"Yeah, but…"

"Give it up, mate." Harry said tiredly.

---------------

Please review!!


	62. Understandings

Hey guys, brand new chapter for you!

Matt- aw, you're so sweet- don't worry, I didn't think you were being mean or flamy, lol. Thanks.

Angel of Ravenclaw- I read your story, it was really wicked! I liked it a lot! And as to the length of this fic, weeelll, lol… I don't know. I know its crazy long, and I'm trying to speed it up. In about 2 chapters we'll get to Christmas, and after that I plan to moves things much quicker. Note the word _plan_. Lol.

So here ya go my lovely readers- a chapter that I named before the moment I went to post it!! shock horror

Chapter 62- Understandings

Faith, Snape and Amity had hurried to the Slytherin common room, worried that the gentlemen might have reached the students before the spell was broken. However, all they found were several dead demons and a lot of grimacing students.

"You guys all ok?" Faith asked. A few nodded, and someone said,

"Were they… the men we heard… were they deatheaters?"

"Yes." Snape replied.

"But… they let those things come after us!" Cried one boy indignantly. Faith had seen him before- one of the hail Voldemort crew.

"Yeah." Faith said simply. "You gettin' it now?" She looked round at these clearly scared children, and sighed, "The Big V don't care about the little people, guys. He's out for getting himself as much power as possible… and killing anyone he feels like. Its not a matter of killing those in his way- its letting those he doesn't need die cos they don't concern him."

She felt a hand on her arm, and turned to see Snape looking more vulnerable than ever before. He stood there, before the students of his house, and she knew this was an incredible moment of both strength and weakness for him, all in one.

"She's right." He said. "I know that in this house we seem to have a… tradition… of feeling that pure blood is better than mixed… but do not let that lead you astray. He who must not be named is not in any way better than anyone else. He is evil, through and through, and _cares_ for no one. He killed his own father." He sighed deeply. "All of you, as students of Hogwarts, are intelligent…" He paused, reconsidering, "…to a certain extent at least… and I know that at least most of you have the brains to know that when it comes down to it, where you come from makes no difference. _Esspecially_ in considering the dark lord, for he will not care whom your parents were if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time." He once again looked around at his students with sadness in his gaze, "I know, for a fact, that some of you have been… approached… by agents of the Dark Lord. I beg of you to turn down any offers you receive, and to come to me immediately. No matter what threats he gives you, turn your back on him, _please- _because I know where that road leads, and believe me, you do not want to go there. You will not be harmed. I will not let you be harmed, Dumbledore will not let you be harmed- this _school_ will not let you be harmed." For a moment he just stood there, letting it sink in, before turning to the demon bodies and levitating one after another and floating them out. Even Faith didn't have a snappy remark.

"Can you check these guys are ok?" Faith asked Ami, not quite able to meet her eyes, "I gotta help with… all this…"

"Yeah…" Amity replied awkwardly. Faith turned away, but just as she reached the door, Ami said, "Faith?"

"Uh-huh?"

"I… uh…are you sure you're ok?"

"I'm fine, Ami."

The redhead nodded, forcing a smile,

"Ok…" She said vaguely. Faith nodded back, and left quickly.

-----------

Ministry officials arrived swiftly to clean up the mess and arrest the deatheaters, even Fudge coming to hear the truth serum-aided testimony of the apparent leader, which Dumbledore had insisted on taking immediately. That evening, Dumbledore called an order meeting at the school, which Faith and Buffy also attended. The staff reported that no students or teachers were seriously hurt, and that in fact the other two common rooms had not been touched at all. However, they were informed that two people had been killed in Hogsmeade.

"The leader said nothing until we gave him the serum… but afterward, he was of course, rather forth-coming." Dumbledore said. "It appears that they intended for the Gentlemen to incapacitate the castle- something they succeeded at rather well… and then they meant to kill two birds with one stone. They aimed for Gryffindor and Slytherin in order to get Harry, and Faith."

Faith lowered her eyes. Not everyone knew exactly what her history was, or exactly how she had come to be at the school.

"Why?" Mundungus Fletcher asked.

"Because he was rather displeased with her." Dumbledore replied with the slightest hint of a smirk. "He tried to get her to join him, and she convinced him she had, before betraying him. It was she who snapped his wand."

A murmur ran through the group.

"So he wanted revenge." Said Kingsley simply.

"Yes."

"Damn good thing you were in Hogwarts then, eh?" Tonks said with an encouraging smile. Faith couldn't help but return it just a little.

"Yes, quite." Dumbledore said. "Professor Snape tells me you were largely responsible for stopping those demons reaching the children."

Faith looked up at him, shocked.

"He did?"

"Yes." Dumbledore replied, not hiding the smirk this time.

"Flynn would be offal if it weren't for you." Snape said darkly.

"She wouldn't have been down there if it wasn't for me." Faith retorted.

"Not quite the point, Black." He said, sharp but amused.

"The point is, Miss Black… Faith…" Dumbledore quickly corrected himself, "That Voldemort has not forgotten your betrayal, as I never though he would. You must watch out. Be careful."

"As always." She said stiffly. The headmaster nodded.

"As for Harry- well it's no surprise that Voldemort came after him…"

"Good thing you had the idea of hiding them." Buffy said, "Cos Harry isn't dumb, but somehow I doubt he'd have sat up there and waited for it to blow over." She frowned, "But hey… if you left them _inside_ the room of requirment, then how come they couldn't just think 'I want to get out' and… get out?"

"Ah." Dumbledore smiled, "It is quite simple really. Harry _wanted_ to get out, as I'm sure many of them did, but what each and every one of them really _required_ was to be as far away from that fight as possible."

"That's pretty sneaky." Faith commented wryly.

"Why thank you." Dumbledore replied. "Still- business. There is more. The man we questioned knew nothing of future plans, but we were able to get something good out of all of this." He smiled at Buffy, and then over to her right, to where Sirius sat. "With the Minister beside me, I asked the death eater if Sirius Black was ever a death eater. He replied 'no'. So the minister asked how could he be so sure? And he told him of how Voldemort had been unable to resist saying time and again how it was so ironic that the man most loyal to the Potter's is on the run, hunted by dementors, for betrayal, and murders, he never committed."

The entire table gaped, and a moment later Buffy let out a whoop.

"So he's cleared? Fudge believed him?"

"He had no choice. The man was under the influence of veritaserum."

"Hell yeah!" Buffy cried, throwing her arms around Sirius's neck. He hugged her back with a broad smile.

The rest of the meeting covered some general order matters, but the general feeling was that they had once again beaten back the enemy, for the time being at least. When the meeting adjourned, Dumbledore called Faith back when the others left.

"Are you really alright?" He asked.

"Yeah." She snapped, "Just annoyed that people keep askin'."

"Sorry." He chuckled. "I hear that Amity may have heard yet more about your true identity?"

"Yeah…" Faith sighed dejectedly. But Dumbledore smiled,

"Well, Faith… today I believe that you proved yourself. You proved, undoubtedly, your loyalty, and your… strength. Of mind as well as body… and, well… it seems that she knows practically everything _anyway_…" He shrugged a little. Faith's lips quirked into a small smile,

"You serious?"

He nodded,

"But be careful, Faith. Believe me, your past is not something we want in the Daily Prophet."

"I hear that." Faith agreed. "Thanks, D."

"That is quite alright."

She smiled, and hurried off. She would speak to Ami soon enough, but first she had one other thing to do.

Faith knocked tentatively on the heavy door. There was a short silence, and then just as she was going to knock again, she heard a gruff,

"Come." From within. She pushed the door open to see Snape bent over his desk, quill in hand.

"You working?" She asked in almost a laugh.

"Some of us do once in a while." He retorted, not raising his eyes from the parchment. She smiled.

"I just mean, after all this… you're not gonna kick back for a minute?"

"After all what?" He snapped, setting the quill down. "Voldemort knows I work for Dumbledore. My position as a spy is _useless!_ How are we supposed to pre-empt _anything!?_"

"Get over yourself and cool it, Morticia!" Faith replied sharply. "We'll manage! He clearly didn't trust you all that much anyway! And besides- there's no point crying over a guy who was gay in the first place…"

Snape looked utterly bewildered, and Faith sighed with frustration,

"What I'm trying to say is that he woulda found out eventually no matter what you did. Better it gets sorted now than after you've slept with the guy, cos that can just be… ok, metaphors over…" Snape looked amused, but relieved. "Its better that it comes out now than when you're in his big bad lair with no way out."

"I suppose that, at least, is true."

"Damn right it is."

"Why did you come here?" He asked.

"Cos I wanted a playmate." She deadpanned. "_Because_ I wanted to see, believe it or not, if you were ok. Look- I know you don't like me. And frankly, I don't like you, but truth is, we aint all that different. We've both been places we've regretted…"

"You cannot compare…" Snape began hotly.

"I betrayed everyone I had!" She snapped, cutting him off. "I tried to kill the people who stuck by me even when I killed a guy! Don't you dare try to say that what I did was nothing compared to you- sorry if big demon doesn't compare to big wizard in your books, but don't you _dare_ try to say that you're hurting more than me."

For the first time in a very long time, Snape was flustered. He prided himself on hiding emotions, shoving them down where they could not make him weak, but right now, with Faith yelling at him, her own emotion, as it so rarely did, flaring in her eyes, he knew he could not lie. He could not try to out do her, or act somehow superior, or righteous. This _girl_, not even truly a woman yet, had been though the same as he, and he could not put her down. She had pulled through it, fought back, and he would not degrade her. It was a strange sort of common ground he'd found with few, let alone a student. So he nodded, slowly. There was only one thing he could think to say.

"I envy you."

"Y'what?" She scoffed, amazed.

"That you don't have to be reminded of it every day." He pulled back his sleeve to revealed the dark mark upon his skin.

"But I do." Faith replied, drawing up the edge of her shirt to show the dreadful scar on her midriff. "Never goes away, does it?" She whispered several moments later- it sounded matter of fact, but still a little pleading. He shook his head, sighing,

"No."

"But we still keep scrubbin' anyway."

"Yes."

They were quiet for a while, both comfortable with the silence, but eventually Faith just had to break it. She smirked,

"So does this mean I get out of all those extra essays?"

"Don't push it Black." He said flatly.

"Damn." She grinned, "See ya in class Morti."

"Don't call me that." He snapped as she headed for the door.

"Call you what, Morticia?" She opened the door and flashed him a huge grin, eyebrows raised in question.

"Detention." He said.

"Oh you just wanna spend more time with me." She cooed.

"Get out!"

She blew him a kiss and left.

---------------

The Potter siblings sat together with steaming mugs of hot chocolate, talking over the things that had happened… it seemed to them that maybe mixing two completely screwy lives might not have been such a great idea after all.

"Instead of a few demons now and then…"

"Or a death eater attack once in a while…"

"We get a death eater/ demon alliance attacking the school, killing towns people and smashing portraits." Buffy sighed.

"I think its official. We're a lethal combination." Harry said.

"Uh-huh." Buffy sneaked a grin, "Just think what we could do if we could be bothered!"

They laughed a little,

"Even the twins would be shocked." Harry commented.

"Oh definitely, they're nothing on us."

The laughter trailed off, and they fell into silence.

"Are you ok?" Buffy asked a minute later. Harry nodded tiredly,

"Yeah."

"It's the prophecy, isn't it?"

"He sent those demons here after me. Those people who died- yet again they died because of _me_." He starred down into his hot chocolate. "First my… _our_ parents, Cedric, _Sirius_…"

"Sirius is alive and well."

"But Cedric isn't! Our parents aren't! And how many other people do you reckon have died since he came back, huh? If only I hadn't been so stupid- I should have known Moody was…"

"You'd never met the man before!" Buffy cried, "And even Dumbledore couldn't tell! Harry, it wasn't your fault! None of this is your fault!"

"But Mum and Dad…" A tear rolled down his cheek.

"No, Harry." Buffy said rather forcefully, putting her mug to the side and kneeling in front of him, holding his hands in her own. "No. Their deaths were _not_ your fault. There is no way you could have stopped any of this, and especially not _that_. And if anyone has a right to say it, I do, and I don't blame you!"

"Yeah well you never lived with them did you?" Harry snapped. Buffy felt it like a physical blow, as if he'd slapped her. She got up stiffly, taking a step back,

"Well no… I guess not…" She murmured. Harry squeezed his eyes shut,

"Buffy… I'm sorry, that was unfair. I didn't mean…"

"No… it's ok. I understand…"

"Buffy!" Harry stood, reaching out to her. He was easily a head taller than her, and she had to look up to meet his eyes. "I'm sorry." He repeated. She wrapped her arms around him, each hugging the other as if they were the last person on earth.

"I love you, Harry, you know that, right?"

"I love you too, Buffy. Sorry I'm such a shit sometimes."

Buffy choked a laugh as they came apart.

"Don't worry- means I get an excuse to be a bitch once in a while."

Harry chuckled, and they sat down again, each feeling much more light hearted than they had a minute ago.

-------------

Please review!!


	63. Confessions and Christmas plans

Heya guys! I can't believe that this flippin story has turned out more long winded than child of the key! sighs But fear not- lookie at title- I mention Christmas! Lol. The next few chapters will pretty much be Christmas and fluff based, but then after that, unless my brain is really out to kill me, we should get pretty quickly into the run up to the end!! 'Woohoo!' I hear you all cry. Or possibly 'boo hoo' because my story is so fantastic ;). Please don't throw eggs, but some ideas for a sequel are bombarding my brain and refusing to go away, so I may ask advice on that soon!

Soo, reviews (which there weren't many of :'( … except from Buffy/HarryPotter fan who I think reviewed every single chapter in the last few days…)

I'm really glad that you all seemed to like the Buffy and Harry bit and the Faith and Snape stuff – I myself was quite proud of my Faith/Snape conversation. So thanks!

Specifically-

Buffy/HarryPotter fan- thanks for the reviews, I spent flippin ages reading them. But I have to say I really didn't appreciate your review for chapter 45. I acknowledge that the singing chapter wasn't the best I'd ever written, but calling it 'Pure Shit' was a long way from constructive criticism and well into the simply rude category.

Jenn- Thank you so much, that is so sweet! As you probably know, I love Faith, so that's one of the biggest compliments you could possibly give me!

So, on we go, if I babble any more we'll never reach the end!

Chapter 63- Confessions and Christmas planning 

It was nearly midnight by the time Faith returned to her room, and yet she was not surprised to find Amity sitting reading a book on the sofa.

"Hey." She said quietly. Amity looked up, a little startled,

"Faith, Hey. Meeting over?"

"Yeah, a while ago actually… I had to… talk to someone."

"Everything ok?"

"Yeah." Faith sighed. "Or, as well as it can be. Two people died in Hogsmeade."

"Oh shit."

"Yeah." Faith flopped onto the other sofa. "But they caught a whole load of death eaters thanks to the whole no apparating rule, and asked them a loada questions, including about Sirius Black…"

"The murderer guy?" Amity asked with a frown.

"He's not a murderer. He was innocent the whole time."

"How do you know that?"

"Because Harry Ron and Hermione met him in their third year. Peter Pettigrew never died. He killed those people and transformed into a rat- he's an animagus."

"Oh my god! So…"

"Black was never a death eater. But even though Dumbledore knew that, Fudge wouldn't believe him until tonight, when they used a truth potion on a death eater and asked him straight up. So even Fudge cant deny it now, and Sirius is cleared." She smiled.

"You…" Amity rolled her eyes, "You know him too?"

"Yup. I don't know if I'm meant to tell you this, but what the hey- he's been here, in the school, for months."

"Oh my god! How?"

Faith tapped the side of her nose with a finger and grinned,

"Now that is a secret."

They dropped into an awkward silence, until Amity took a deep breath and said,

"Look… I know I can't… I'm not gonna…"

"It's ok." Faith said quietly. "Dumbledore said that I 'proved myself' today, and I can tell you."

"Really?" Amity gasped, unable to hide her excitement.

"Yeah." Faith said, not meeting her friend's eyes. "An' Ami… I just… it's only fair that I answer your questions… but I gotta tell you now that you're not gonna like all the answers. There is a very good reason that I _had_ to prove myself to Dumble-D, and…"

"It's ok." Amity said quickly, "Faith I _trust_ you. You can tell me anything."

"That's what I'm worried about." Faith said, feeling tears welling in her eyes. "Ami… you don't get it… I haven't had a friend like you in a helluva long time… if ever…"

"Faith… I know you, and I know you're a good person… whatever has happened in your past doesn't change that! But… you don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to."

"Of course I will. I owe it to you." Faith sniffed, and straightened, simply wiping away her emotional outburst, "Ask away."

Amity paused, sighed, and then said,

"Ok… so, that guy today called you a Slayer."

"Yeah… you know what that is?"

Amity nodded,

"Yeah, we learnt about them briefly, but most people just think they're myths. They fight demons, right?"

"Yeah, _we_ do."

"You're really the slayer?"

"Yup." She replied. "Or one of them anyway."

"Buffy." Amity said simply, and Faith smirked,

"Bullseye."

"Wow. But I thought there could only be one?"

"Long story short? Buffy drowned, got revived, slayer called, slayer died, me called."

"Right. So… then… I guess the next question has to be what happened? Why did you come here? And the rumours…?"

Faith nodded slowly,

"Ok… I guess I'll just tell you the lot." Faith sighed, pausing as she wondered how exactly to put it all, and hoping it would just come out once she started. "Well… after my first watcher was killed, I went to Sunnydale and worked with Buffy for a while. One night, we were out slayin' and this guy jumped outta nowhere… it was dark, and I thought he was a vamp, and… I staked him. I killed him."

"Oh merlin…"

"Yeah… he died and I freaked. I couldn't deal. Buffy tried to help, but I didn't want help. I wanted to forget it. Problem is shit like that don't work that way- it never goes away. I couldn't deal, Ami, and…well, I convinced myself I didn't care. I joined the bad guy's team. I fought against B, and hurt her and her friends… I killed people, Ami, in cold blood. Sirius is innocent, but me… _I'm_ the murderer."

There was a long silence while Faith couldn't look at Amity. She was terrified of what she might see in her eyes. Eventually Amity spoke, stiffly,

"And then…?"

"And… then… just before my boss's big plan was gonna happen, I poisoned Buffy's beau, Angel. The only cure for the poison was slayers blood, so Buffy came after me. We fought, she won. She stabbed me, and I jumped off the balcony we were on onto a passing truck."

Amity gasped,

"She stabbed you…?"

"She had no choice." Faith said sharply. "But I had deprived her of her cure, so she gave herself to Angel instead."

"Wait… what do you…?"

"Angel is a vampire with a soul. A good guy. Buffy forced him to feed off of her to cure him."

"And you?"

"I was in a coma. They apparently didn't think I'd ever wake up. In fact…" She laughed hollowly, "I don't know if I would have…"

"What do you mean?"

"Voldie woke me up with some sorta spell."

"V…you mean…?" She gasped.

"Voldemort, yeah. Say the name, Ami, it doesn't bite." Faith still wasn't meeting her eyes, but was a little more relaxed as Amity hadn't stormed out yet.

"V…Vol…_Voldemort_ woke you up?" Amity asked, shivering as she said it.

"Yep. Told me all about magic and how I was a pure blood witch, I just didn't know it yet. He said that he would teach me all of it if I joined him. It wasn't hard to get the evil vibe off him… but its not as if I was in a position to be picky now was I? So I asked what he wanted me to do, and he said he wanted me to get this boy for him."

"Potter."

"Bingo. I wasn't so sure. I didn't trust him one jot, an' I trusted Mayor Wilkins, who wanted to be a demon, so…" She shrugged. "Anyway. Then he told me all about this annoying girl who had appeared, and showed me a picture of her. When I saw it was Buffy, I agreed right away."

"You… wanted revenge?" Amity asked, clearly confused. Faith understood that the way it sounded like it was going wouldn't have ended up with her at Hogwarts. She shook her head,

"At that moment I wasn't sure what I wanted exactly… my mind was goin' crazy… but what I _did_ was kidnap Harry."

"So it _was_ you."

"Yup. I took him to Voldie, and let Voldemort think I'd killed Buffy. Then, when he gave me a knife to…" She felt bile rise in her throat, "To _play_ with Harry… I stabbed him, snapped his wand, and knocked him out."

"What? But…"

"Just wait." Faith said. It was easier to just get it all out. "Buffy turned up looking for Harry, of course, and I let _her_ think I'd killed _Harry_… so we fought, and she was perfectly happy with the idea of killing me… until I didn't stop her."

"You didn't stop her…? You…" Ami trailed off, gasping, "You wanted her to kill you. You _wanted_ to die."

"Damn right I did. You have no idea what it's like to have all those people in your head. I wanted it to stop. But when I didn't stop Buffy killing me, she knew something was wrong. She found Harry, and… and… I tried to make her do it anyway, but she wouldn't… she _comforted _me. Then Voldie disappeared so we had to split, and we came here. Dumbledore agreed to let me stay on the condition that I told no one about my past, and I'd be watched like a hawk- Snape took care of that."

"I noticed he seemed to hate you even more than most."

Faith shrugged,

"Understandable."

There was silence again while Amity considered it all. She sighed, and Faith bit down on her lip, forcing herself to keep her composure.

"Then what Fulk said about Halloween- the people…"

"Were people I had killed."

"And you tried to…?"

"The spell broke when I was on the edge… and I almost did it anyway."

Suddenly Amity sprung off her seat and flung her arms around Faith's neck.

"Don't say that! Don't you dare even think that!" She snapped while hugging the slayer tight. She pulled back with tears in her eyes, "You're so into not looking, or being weak- well _that_ would be weakness! You're an amazing person, Faith an' I know that… what you did… that's awful… but, even with that, you're trying to make up for it. You fight it instead of running away or throwing your life away…" She seemed to be having a hard time explaining exactly what she wanted to say, "What you did will never go away, and it'll never be ok, but… getting yourself locked up, or killing yourself… that'd be twice as bad, because you'd be making no effort to help people instead. You'd be letting people die by _not_ helping them… does that even make sense?"

"Yeah." Faith said with a smile, tears streaming down her cheeks despite herself. "That totally makes sense… and thank you."

"No problem." Amity said, tucking a strand of hair behind Faith's ear.

"You don't hate me then?"

Amity shook her head,

"No way. Don't know that I could if I tried."

Faith chuckled,

"Thanks. You have no idea how much that means to me."

They hugged again, and Faith felt happier than she had in months.

----------------

Just before the DA meeting that week, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, Luna and Draco (if reluctantly) were all sitting around together, talking excitedly about the attack, and filling in details that some had missed. Luna was rather annoyed that they had had no action at all, and Neville irritated that he had been in the dorm and missed the trip through the school with Dumbledore and the elaborate lock-in. Harry however enjoyed relating the stories he'd got from Buffy about fighting the gentlemen. Draco sat back a little, wondering whether to add his stories from Faith, as he had later talked to her and Amity, gaining access to the info by proving that he knew of Buffy's status. Eventually he couldn't take it any longer.

"Slytherin was attacked too." He said almost boastfully.

"Why?" Luna scoffed, "Most of your parents were the ones attacking."

Ron cracked up, grinning widely, but Hermione frowned. Draco gave Luna a look to freeze fire, and she gulped.

"You think _He_ cares about that?" He said in a low, dangerous tone. "They didn't care that over half the kids they endangered would happily have followed them. They attacked for a very specific reason- deatheaters kids in the way wouldn't change that."

"What reason?" Neville asked. Draco looked to Hermione, and she nodded,

"They know about the slayer stuff." She said. "And about Faith."

"Well in that case- the deatheaters were after Faith. Apparently the Dark lord…"

"_Voldemort_." The trio chorused, even Ron now annoyed by people not saying his name.

"Yeah, him… he's pretty pissed off with Faith for betraying him… they used the cruciatus on her." Both Neville and Harry winced. "See, when they attacked, it was just Faith and Snape against a whole load of them _and_ those demons. Ami… Amity said that she was beating the shite outta them even though they were armed and she wasn't. And then the demons grabbed Amity. They were holding her down, getting ready to rip out her heart…" He paused to revel in the grimaces and groans of disgust, "And Faith took her attention off the deatheaters to save her. That's when they hit her with the curse from behind. It's like being stabbed all over your body with thousands of knives, like…"

"Trying to seduce them with poetry now?" Said an indignantly amused voice from the doorway. They all turned to see Faith and Amity in the doorway, Buffy, George and Fred just behind them. It was Faith who had spoken. Draco raised an eyebrow in annoyance, which only produced a round of laughter from the girls as the group trooped in.

"You guys here for the meeting?" Harry asked nervously.

"Course." Buffy replied.

"I thought you'd forgotten about it." He admitted. Buffy ruffled his hair with a grin,

"You should be so lucky." She joked. He grimaced, trying fruitlessly to flatten his hair again.

Fred was standing by the window, looking out at the pouring rain.

"Crappy weather." He murmured. George nodded,

"Yeah… but it'll be Christmas time soon- then it'll probably snow!"

"Does it always snow here then?" Buffy asked excitedly, only having experience snow once.

"Hogwarts always gets a tonne." Harry said with a grin. "We've had some wicked snow ball fights."

"What are you doing for Christmas?" George asked Buffy. "Staying here or going home?"

The group fell silent. Harry's mouth was hanging open slightly. For the first time since he'd come to Hogwarts, he had the choice of going home for Christmas. He hadn't even thought about it. He looked to Buffy, who shrugged thoughtfully,

"I… I don't know." She said, "I guess I had presumed we'd go home... to see the guys, y'know? But… Sunnydale isn't the most Christmassy place."

A smile slowly spread across Harry's face as an idea blossomed.

"Ask them here." He said. "Hogwarts Christmas dinner is incredible, plus the snow…" He looked around at the group, "What if we all stayed? And if Willow and Xander and them come… we could have a big Christmas here?"

"That would be wonderful!" Hermione squealed. Luna looked around, as if checking if she was included, and found that Harry grinned at her. She grinned back, her cheeks flushing pink. She'd never had any reason to want to stay at school over Christmas before.

"We would however have to have a huge snowball war you understand." Fred said very matter of factly.

"Of course." Buffy grinned, "Girls against boys, we'd slaughter you."

"Not a chance!" George cried, grabbing his girlfriend round the waist. She shrieked and batted at him, laughing hard as he started tickling her,

"Get off me or we'll end up with a George filled snowman!"

"You're in for it now." Faith grinned.

"Totally dead." Harry agreed. George kissed Buffy on the cheek from behind and stopped tickling, just linking his hands at her waist. She swatted his hand playfully, but grinned.

"So… Hogwarts Chistmas?" She asked the group as a whole. They all cheered happily. "I'll take that as a yes."

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Woohoo, Christmas is a-coming. (finally)

Pleeaaase review, I have this major major fear that people have gotten bored of my extreme long windedness and given up on this ever going anywhere L

I swear it will be finished!!

Please review!!


	64. Reunion

Heya people! Im in a very good mood right now despite the fact that I've not done any of my huge amount of homework due to jam packed weekend, AND im busy the next two nights, so no H/W time then, and I have a costume to finish for the school fantasy fashion show tomorrow night... :D cud be to do with the fact that I got a Uni offer!! :D Ok, now that I've finished showing off… 

Shimmyontherooftops- Woohoo! I'm very proud to have converted you to the clan of Buffy/Hp cross lovers!

Moonwind92- oooook, bad thing to say to me cos I tend to rant about fath related stuff :D See, buffy and Faith always had their problems, but when they were working together in s3, for a few eps at least, they were very much sister slayers. As for understanding each other- end of S7? Convo about being alone, and then buffy handing over the scythe during the final battle?? They totally did understand eachother by the end. I just sped it up. grins See- ranting!

matt- aaaaaaw! Lol.

Carribean princess- grins sorry girl, but the next few chapters will have practically nothing to do with voldie. Lots of Christmas fluff!!

Tammin- Haha!! Would you believe you're the only person who asked that? grins evilly

Thanks everyone for all your reviews- now I feel bad cos I think I mighta guilt tripped u into reviewing… :D But still, me happy!

To those who asked about how long this is gonna be… I actually finally have the end in sight!! I hope you don't mind, but I pretty much gonna skip most of the spring term cos nothing really happens, and then the finale will be coming up! :D

So on we go- enjoy!

Chapter 64- Reunion 

The few weeks left before Christmas seemed to fly by. Dumbledore agreed to allow the scoobies to stay at the school for Christmas, and an invitation was sent immediately, which was answered with a swift and very excited yes. The last Hogsmeade visit of the term was taken up with a tonne of Christmas shopping, and Ron moaned that the expansion of the group was a very bad idea from his money-bag's perspective. Even Draco agreed to stay at school, ('No one will be around at home, I was gonna stay anyway.' He insisted.) and by the time everyone else was leaving, there was great anticipation of a fantastic Christmas to come.

The day after the majority of the students left on the Hogwarts express, the Scoobies were due to arrive by floo to the Gryffindor common room at noon. As barely anyone else was around, Faith, Amity, Luna and Draco were allowed in, though Draco made it very clear that he took no pleasure in it… except when he complained that it was much warmer and cosier than the Slytherin one.

"Wills said she was gonna bring a new friend." Buffy said excitedly to her brother.

"Cool." Harry replied, grinning at his sister's enthusiasm. Faith was sitting to one side with Ami, biting her lip nervously.

"You ok?" Amity asked, nudging her.

"Fine." She said far to quickly.

"What are you so nervous about?"

"Nothing… I mean… just… It'll be odd seeing them all again… and they might be a little pissed… I didn't exactly say a proper goodbye."

"Yah, right." Amity chuckled. She put an arm round Faith's shoulders, "You'll be fine." She said.

"Yeah." Faith grinned, looking sideways at her.

"And you have to introduce me to them all- I only saw them from a distance before."

"Of course." Faith promised.

Dumbledore and Lupin were also standing with the group, and Dumbledore now glanced at a pocket watch,

"Any moment now." He told them all. Faith suddenly stood up, looking around frantically, then sat down again, stiffly.

"Faith?" Amity asked with a half-laugh.

"Sorry… I…" She bit her lip, "I don't know if I should be here."

"Don't be so silly." Amity placed a hand on either of Faith's shoulders, "You'll be fine. They're your friends."

"Uh-huh." Faith laughed, "Who I tried to _kill_ once!"

"That was ages ago, and you've seen them since then!" She couldn't work out why Faith was so agitated. Suddenly the common room fire flared green, and Dumbledore said,

"Ah, here they come."

A moment later, Willow toppled out of the fireplace choking on soot.

"Will!" Buffy cried, throwing her arms around her. Willow giggled and hugged back. Next came Oz, who managed the landing rather well. He grinned as Harry greeted him and they had a manly hug. Then came a girl none of them knew- she was tall, with dark blonde hair and a mousy, terrified expression.

"Buffy, this is Tara." Willow said excitedly, "The only other actual wicca in my wicca group."

"Oh wow!" Buffy exclaimed, "Its so nice to meet you."

"Y-you too." The girl stuttered, "I've h-heard s-so much about y-you."

Next out of the fireplace was Xander, and Faith found herself standing again. Buffy and Harry were talking to Tara Willow and Oz, so his eyes met Faiths, and she swallowed.

"Hey." He said.

"Hey." Faith replied with a small smile. "How've you been?"

"Er… good." He said awkwardly. Their locked gaze only broke when the fire flared again, and another girl came out, crying,

"Ugh! Xander! I _told_ you I hated this way of travelling!" His head snapped round, shocked… almost as if he'd forgotten all about her. Faith's smile faltered, and she swallowed again as Xander said,

"Ah… Faith, this is Anya."

"Your girlfriend." Faith murmured. Somehow she'd managed to forget all about the ex-demon girl Buffy had told her about many times.

"Oh- this is the crazy slayer girl then?" Anya asked, looking Faith over with a critical eye.

"Ahn, I told you to stop calling her that." Xander said, clearly embarrassed.

"Na, s'ok." Faith said flippantly, "It's true, isn't it?"

"Faith…"

"Xander!" Buffy cried, throwing her arms around his neck and cutting off the sentence.

"Come on." Faith said to Amity, heading for the door.

In the excitement of everyone arriving, no one but Xander noticed them leave.

The second to last person to come through gave Buffy a shock. The Blonde man stumbled out with a shriek of,

"Bloody hell I forgot about this…"

"_Spike!?"_ Buffy exclaimed.

"He woulda staked himself if we left him." Willow explained.

"So?" Buffy asked, perfectly serious.

"Preachin' to the choir." Xander agreed. A moment later, Giles stepped out of the fire place in a very composed manner. Buffy gaped at him, then cracked a smile,

"Giles, have you been practising?"

"What? Of course not." He scoffed, not meeting her eyes. The group cracked up as Giles went red.

"Welcome to Hogwarts." Dumbledore said proudly, "Your rooms are situated along the Gryffindor corridor- there are four of them to fight over as you will."

Giles turned to Buffy, who was grinning widely.

"Hi." She said.

"Hello Buffy." He replied, enveloping her in a huge hug.

"Ugh, I've missed you." She said into his shoulder.

"And I you, Buffy. You must tell me everything that has happened- your letters were quite intriguing."

"Of course." Buffy agreed. "But first- lunch."

The gang trooped out, leaving their luggage in the common room to be collected by house elves. They all talked loudly as they walked, Oz and Lupin discussing wolfsbane potions, Giles asking Dumbledore about various historical rumours about Hogwarts, and Buffy asking both Anya and Spike how they had happened to have travelled by floo before. Still only Xander was wondering where Faith and Amity had rushed off to.

--------------------

"You like him a lot, don't you?" Amity asked. They were back in the Slytherin common-room, curled up on sofas, Faith with a very dismal expression.

"What? No." Faith replied.

"Uh-huh. And the Weasley brothers never cheat." Amity deadpanned. Faith glared at her,

"I… no… not like that. I mean, we had a thing, once, but no… we're not… we're not like that."

"And that's what's getting at you." Amity observed.

"No!" Faith snapped, "As a matter of fact, last time he was here, he wanted more, and _I_ turned _him_ down."

"Because you were at the 'I must punish myself as much as possible and never admit to having a single human emotion' stage."

"_No_." Faith said, with a good impression of someone who thinks the person they're taking to is moronic. Good, but not perfect.

"It's ok." Amity said, in a rather high pitched voice, "There's nothing wrong with that. Why would _I_ care anyway?" and she became very interested in the ancient runes textbook lying on the table beside her seat. Faith frowned, very confused,

"Why _would_ you care?"

"I _don't._" She replied, turning a page huffily.

"Ami." Faith said exasperatedly.

"What?"

"You don't _do_ ancient runes."

"_So?"_

"So you cant possibly understand any of that." Faith replied, pointing at the book. "What's up?"

"_I_ don't know. You tell me." She replied, much like a petulant child.

"Ami…" Faith laughed shortly, "What is this? You're getting huffy cos you _think_ I like a guy? I don't get it… why? You think he's not good enough or something?"

"No." Amity snapped, "I…" She trailed off, looking at the floor. "No, its nothing… Lets go to lunch, shall we?"

"But…" Faith sighed, "Oh whatever, fine, lets go."

----------------

When they entered the great hall, there was only one long table instead of five, for other than their group, there were barely ten students staying at school over the holiday. The large group the pair had left only half an hour ago were all deep in discussion about something or other, and though Faith tried to squash onto the other end with the remaining students, they made it very clear that there just wasn't enough room, and she and Amity ended up rejoining the group.

"Hey- where did you go?" Buffy asked.

"Nowhere." Faith replied.

"Er, yeah you did."

"We were just talking, and you were all talking, and the room was crowded, so we went back to the Slytherin room."

"Why?" Buffy exclaimed, "The guys just got here!"

"B, they're here to see you, not me."

"Well Xander asked where you were." Buffy said defiantly.

"Good for him." Faith murmured, and started piling potatoes onto her plate. Buffy just shook her head, non-plussed.

"Wicked powerful vamp she was," Spike was saying, further along, to a rapt audience of current and ex Hogwarts students, teachers and Sunnydalers, "I mean, she was a formidable witch before I turned her, so after- wow. I didn't think anyone would ever take her down- Dru hated her because of the magic- she said it wasn't as pure as her 'sight' because so many people had it. Anyway, eventually a gang of vampire hunting aurors got 'er. I couldn't help thinking Dru had tipped them off to her location…"

"Wow." Neville said, eyes wide in awe.

"So… you're a good sort of vampire?" Luna asked. Spike snorted,

"God no! Nope, I'm as evil as they come… I've just hit some… snags, right now."

"He's neutered." Xander said happily, and all the boys winced.

"Not _literally!_" Spike cried, "Would you stop telling people that!? I have a chip which stops me hurting people."

"So he's depressed." Willow added, "Which is why we had to bring him with."

"Yeah, cos Will thought Spike killing himself would be a _bad_ thing." Xander shook his head in disbelief.

"Surely you can learn more from him this way." Hermione commented, looking spike over critically.

"I'm not a bloody science project."

"What's science?" Ron asked. Spike gaped at him,

"Well soldier boy jokes, but I could swear this kid's serious." He commented with a smirk.

"They don't learn science and stuff." Buffy explained to Spike, "They don't need it because they have magic."

"Was he calling me dumb!?" Ron exclaimed with irritation.

"Spike's a bastard, Ron, don't sweat it." Xander said.

"And proud of it." Spike said grinning.

Harry didn't say much, he just ate, listened and watched, loving that the whole thing had such a family feel to it. The Sunnydale gang got on incredibly well with the Hogwarts lot, and each group was equally curious about the other's world, so they had endless conversational topics.

After dinner they all went to Buffy's room, Faith unable to find any time to skip out as she was quizzed by Willow and Giles on her part in fighting off the gentlemen as they walked. So the large group settled round in armchairs, and on the sofa, bed and thick rugs on the floor. Mugs of hot chocolate, topped with thick, whipped cream, were passed around from Buffy's magical drawer, and a bag of marsh mallows was produced from someone's pocket. By midnight, everyone, from Vampire, to slayers, to wizards and witches was feeling comfortably sleepy in a warm, cosy sort of way.

Faith, Amity, Luna and Draco all looked disgustedly at the door, feeling that having to get all the way to the other house dorms was incredibly unjust. So Hermione suggested that seeing as she was the only 6th year Girl left in the Gryffindor dorm, Luna, Amity and Faith could easily join her and Ginny in that room. (as Ginny had spent the previous night there anyway) they happily agreed, and Draco sighed, saying,

"I'd better get going…" Forcing himself to stand. Harry, with a look of complete disgust on his face, eyes squeezed shut as he forced himself to say it, said,

"Don't be dumb. Dean and Seamus have both gone home- you can bunk in our dorm."

At which Ron gave Harry a look to kill, and everyone else just dropped their jaws to the floor. Draco did a great fish impression, as shocked as everyone else, but Hermione gave him a stern look that said very clearly, 'accept it or else'. So he nodded with a grimace.

"O…k…" He forced out.

So the odd group of students said their drowsy goodnights, and headed off to the Gryffindor dorms, Ron shooting furious looks at his unwanted guest, and secretly wondering if it would be too suspicious for Draco to have _accidently '_sleep walked' out of the window in the middle of the night.

Willow and Xander both gave Buffy huge hugs accompanied by big grins, and all the scoobies said their good nights before leaving through the portrait hole for the guest rooms. Sirius and Lupin also took their leave only moments later, heading for their own rooms, and after a few minutes of forced chatter, Fred said that he really was very tired and he'd see George later.

Buffy and George, already sitting on her bed, lay back, each holding the other in their arms, and smiled contentedly at each other. Buffy had a vague feeling that she had meant to say something… but the thought slipped away, and seconds later they were both fast asleep.

-----------------

Aw, please review!!


	65. Christmas

Heya people!! Early Christmas prezzie for you all! I wanted to wait til Christmas for this, but that would mean two more weeks of no updating, and that would just be mean, but here is is- the Christmas chapter at last!! And it's a nice long one too! I guess halfway through advent will have to do!!

Flying alien- Aw, thanks. And I have written one xmen/darkangel cross story!

matt- thank you! Obviously ur good luck, cos I won the fashion show!!

Moonwind92- lol, don't worry bout it- I just tend to over-rant on Faith topics! And you shud try to see the faith eps, especially the graduation day ones- wicked buffy/faith fight, the ones in season 4, cos they're v.sad, and the Angel eps shes in cos they are soooooo cool and very sad too. –See, I have a problem!

General stuff… heehee Faith and Amity, glad you guys caught onto that- much fun. :D Ooh, and Buffy/Spike, I want to say ull have to wait and see, but I cant be bothered to be mean- he doesn't fall in love with her properly til s5, so maybe in sequel, but not now.

And sorry about posting twice. Ive sorted it now, but it was just cos my computer was being annoying and I didn't think it had worked first time round.

Ooh, and special note to Fanfic-Frankie who I have to apologise to for a reason totally un-ff related- sooooorrrryyy!!!!! We didn't mean to leave u behind and we didn't leave til like 20 past and ur always there early so by then we thought u weren't coming and sooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!

Soooooo, all business dealt with- on with the chap!!

Chapter 65- Christmas 

The next few days went very similarly, the group exchanging stories, playing games from wizard chess to quidditch, pelting each other with snowballs, and eating and drinking in huge excess. Ron and Draco were at each others throats after a couple of nights spent in the same dorm- Ron swearing that he heard Draco murmur a curse under his breath and thereby couldn't sleep for fear of Draco attacking him, while Draco insisted that that was a lie as he was up all night due to Ron's 'troll snores'. Faith managed to avoid both Xander and Anya almost completely, though Amity noticed the tension whenever their eyes met, and Faith couldn't understand the snappy mood that Amity kept getting in after moments like these. However, Buffy and George were spending every possible moment together, despite much teasing from Willow.

When Christmas eve rolled around, they spent yet another evening sitting around in Buffy's room, no one getting to sleep until 3 am at the very least, and even then it was merely finally dropping off where they sat. By 4.30, the room, like the rest of the castle, was silent, people scattered across every soft and comfortable surface available. Buffy, George, Oz, Willow and Tara had managed to squash onto the huge bed, while Ginny, Ron, Hermione and Neville half lay, half sat like dominoes on one sofa; Harry, Luna, Faith and Amity on the other. Lupin, Sirius, Spike and Giles got the arm chairs they had drawn up, and on the floor, Xander, Anya and Draco slept with more space than anyone, on the rug which seemed rather sympathetically comfortable.

It was not until almost mid-day that the sunlight streaming through the window managed to rouse anyone, but once Ginny stirred, she accidentally elbowed Ron, who jolted awake, and so began the chain reaction that woke the entire room by either nudging, or the resulting indignant cries. It took a few moments for everyone to fully focus on the world around them, but when they did, that wonderful realisation swept over them.

"Hmm, Merry Christmas." Buffy said happily to George, kissing him on the cheek. He smiled, leaning his head against her shoulder,

"Merry Christmas."

"Ooh! Presents!" Ron then cried, and they all laughed. They staggered into the Gryffindor common room, where a huge tree had been erected, and there was now a large pile of presents stacked beneath it. All of their gifts seemed to have appeared here over night, and as they were passed around, again they seemed like one huge family, only a couple of them feeling out of place no matter how much the others involved them.

The feast at lunch time was incredible- the largest spread of food any of the scoobies had ever seen was produced, along with wizard crackers, which Xander exclaimed many times were far, far cooler than normal ones. By the time the crackers had all been pulled, Xander had his very own wizard chess set, which was trying to kill Sirius's similar one across the dinner table; Luna had a large, round marble which confused her until half an hour later Ron said sarcastically

'Yeah, and I'm Merlin' and the ball began to flash red and spin round uncontrollably, at which Lupin exclaimed,

'Oh fantastic! A miniature Fibometer!' and went on to explain that it was a lie detector; and Willow had before her a large white egg, which, to everybody's amazement, Hagrid declared was a Screech owl egg.

That evening, rather than separating from the rest, the group stayed with everyone else and retired to a room off the Great hall where Dumbledore had conjured a whole crowd of comfy sofas and armchairs. The teachers, visitors, and all the students who'd stayed over Christmas piled in, and sat chatting, eating copious amounts of chocolate, and drinking the best cocoa any of them had ever tasted. Much to her fury, Faith had ended up with no place to sit except a remaining space on one of the sofas… right next to Xander. But she couldn't help but get into the conversations, and even found herself almost accidentally chatting to Xander. It wasn't long before a wizard chess tournament sprang into action, all the boys and a couple of girls battling each other over and over in what in the muggle world would have sounded incredibly boring, but considering the vicious nature of the pieces, was actually quite thrilling. Even Snape agreed to join in, though it was probably just because Sirius said his attempt to abstain was due to a fear that the animagus would beat him. It was while watching Ron's queen actually throwing Sirius's castle off the side of the board that both Xander and the slayer beside him heard an intrigued little squeal from the other end of the sofa.

"Look!" Anya was saying, pointing at the ceiling above Faith's head. "Mistletoe!" Faith looked rather ill as she turned her eyes upwards to see that sure enough, there was a large bunch of Mistletoe hanging right over the tiny space between her and Xander. When she looked down, she found that Xander had just done the same. They both swallowed lumps in their throats. "Go on then." Said Anya. Everyone gaped at her.

"What?" Xander asked. Anya rolled her eyes,

"Kiss her!"

"But… I… you." Xander said awkwardly, though Buffy did not miss his rather hopeful glance at Faith. Buffy shook her head- she must have imagined it. Anya rolled her eyes,

"It's traditional. It's not like one kiss under the mistletoe binds you forever."

"Exactly, its just tradition." Said Faith stiffly, "It doesn't matter- who cares if there's a twig hanging over us?" Anya looked appalled,

"But its tradition! You have to!"

"No we don't." Faith insisted.

"It's probably bad luck or something if you don't!" Anya cried unhappily, "And I'm not having you jinxing my poor Xander!"

No one else even tried to intervene- it was now clear to apparently everyone but Anya that there was a huge amount of tension between Xander and Faith, and none dared get stuck in the middle of it. Anya had fixed Faith with a deathly stare, and the slayer knew everyone else was looking at her too, so she rolled her eyes. Her options were- a. point blank refuse and storm out, which would make Xander think she hated him, b. rip the mistletoe down, which would make everyone think she was really very grumpy and humbug-ish, or c. kiss him and get it over with. She shrugged, not meeting anyone's eyes,

"Whatever."

Xander swallowed again, looking between Anya and Faith.

"Go on!" Anya snapped. So he turned to Faith, who finally had no choice but to look at him.

_One…_

Faith thought, _just a tiny peck and its all done, _

_two… _

_Does she really hate me so much now? _Xander thought.

_Three_.

They both moved forward quickly, their lips meeting dryly for a second, each squashing their eyes closed like squeamish children playing spin the bottle. There was a little round of clapping and a whoop from Fred, but neither of them noticed. They were starring at each other, still so close their noses were almost touching. A second later, they found their lips meeting again, for longer this time, her fingers reaching for his, and his other hand finding her cheek.

Everyone gaped. Ron and Sirius paid no attention to the mini-war that had broken out on the table between them. Amity bit her lip and held her breath. Anya looked very confused indeed. After almost a minute of watching with her jaw hanging low, Buffy pulled herself together and cleared her throat loudly,

Faith and Xander sprang apart, gaping at each other.

Buffy forced a little laugh,

"Oh God, _bewitched mistletoe?_" She said, rolling her eyes, "Dumbledore, please take the spell off it before we all lose our lunch."

"Ah, um, yes, of course." Said Dumbledore, more awkward than anyone had ever seen him. He brandished his wand at the mistletoe, saying, "Finite." And succeeding in undoing the sticking charm holding it to the ceiling so that it fell on Faith's head. She yelped, and threw it off her, and laughter, followed by the normal chatter started up again.

"Terribly sorry about that." Dumbledore said, getting more into his role, "I thought it would be rather amusing."

"How exactly was it bewitched?" Asked Anya suspiciously while Faith and Xander looked anywhere but at each other.

"Once two people kiss beneath it, the spell causes raised passion, and… well, it essentially makes them kiss more whether they like it or not." Dumbledore confessed in a perfect lie. Buffy sighed with relief, glancing at Willow, who looked as shocked as anyone, and then at Amity, who looked less shocked, but much more appalled. Buffy frowned, about to question her when Harry said,

"Your turn. Ron and Sirius's set half killed each other while we weren't paying attention, so we called it a draw."

"Oh, ok…" Buffy replied, flustered, but unable to voice any reason to refrain.

"You had me worried for a moment." Anya chuckled, fixing her arms around Xander and kissing him on the cheek. He chuckled weakly.

"You shouldn't have been." Faith forced herself to say, "I mean, Xander and me? Yeah right."

Buffy heard it said, but unlike most, she liked to think she could read Faith, and the slayer's voice sounded rather hollow, and very regretful. Buffy looked over at her, but could spare no more than a glance as the 5th year Ravenclaw boy she was playing took his move quickly and decisively. She sighed again, and concentrated on the game.

Harry had settled on a sofa by Luna, who had caught the offending mistletoe. She was carefully parting bits of it, peering through the leaves.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked.

"Aha!" She cried, "Look- I told you." She held it out to him, holding the leaves apart, "Stuffed full of Nargles." For a moment Harry had no idea what she was talking about, he could see nothing, but as he looked closer, he realised that what he had thought were more small leaves and twigs moved and turned out to be tiny little fairy-like creatures no bigger than ants, who had large elfish ears and were dressed in tiny toga shaped things made of mistletoe leaves.

"Bloody hell." Harry gasped. Luna beamed,

"Aren't they cute?"

"Yeah." Harry said, still starring at them.

"They bite pretty badly if you annoy them though." Luna said thoughtfully. "But most people don't even realise they exist.

"They wouldn't." Harry commented, "They're so small, and they blend perfectly with the colour of the mistletoe!"

"Camouflage." She said wisely. Harry chuckled,

"Yeah."

They both looked down at the mistletoe they held between them, and felt suddenly awkward.

"Um." She said, "Does it count if the mistletoe isn't above you?" She asked.

"Er… I don't think so." Harry said.

"Oh." She said a little dejectedly.

He considered this quickly, and not even sure why he was so eager not to upset her, Harry leant forwards and gave her a peck on the cheek. She blushed wildly, and smiled, chuckling, "Thanks."

Harry shrugged,

"No problem."

And they both turned to watch the chess match.

Again everybody stayed up late, and made their way back to dormitories with heavy eyelids but warm hearts. The Slytherins headed for their own dorms this time, as they were actually closer, but Luna stuck with the Gryffindors because she was the only Ravenclaw girl in her year in school over the break.

"Merry Christmas Buff." Xander said, hugging Buffy tightly when they reached the guest rooms.

"Merry Christmas." She replied. She hugged Willow too, and then Giles, who hung on a while longer,

"Merry Christmas." He said very sincerely when they parted.

"Thanks." Buffy said, smiling, and realising for the first time that she had never even considered that she would have such a great Christmas the year that Joyce Summers died. Giles entered his room, and Buffy felt an arm around her shoulders. She looked up to see George smiling, Fred heading off with the Gryffindors. George kissed her forehead.

"Happy Christmas." He said.

"Same to you." She replied as they walked the short distance to her own portrait door.

"Good night." He said a little reluctantly when they got there. Buffy paused, but then said,

"Why don't you come in?" Their eyes met, and he nodded,

"Sure."

Inside, Buffy kissed George softly. He kissed her back, enveloping her in his warm embrace. They moved unconsciously towards the bed, and between kisses, Buffy pulled off her very own Weasley sweater, feeling rather hot suddenly. However it wasn't long before this excuse expired, for she had pulled off his jumper too, and was allowing George to unbutton her jeans as she lay back on the bed. They kissed again, and again, and Buffy looked up into Georges eyes, tracing the line of his face with a finger.

"I love you." She whispered. He smiled broadly, and kissed her again, so softly and sweetly that Buffy was sure nothing that came after could make her feel as good.

"I love you." He replied.

--------------

The next day Buffy and George arrived at Breakfast after everyone else, holding hands and both smiling contently. Willow and Faith both grinned at her, though she couldn't understand how on Earth they could know anything about why she was smiling. She did notice, however, that Faith was sitting as far from Xander and Anya as possible, and that Harry was conversing easily with Luna, who was sat next to him. Her smile quirked to one side- this could be interesting.

About a half hour after breakfast, the group (minus Spike, as the sky was clear) headed out into grounds where it had snowed again over night, and a thick blanket of snow covered everything in sight. A wide gully was ploughed through the snow where Hagrid had forced his way up to the school for breakfast, showing that it was at least two feet deep in places. So over knee deep in snow, they trooped out wrapped in warm coats and cloaks, gloves, scarves and hats- Harry could barely be seen within the many turns of the scarf Willow had given him for his birthday nearly six months ago. Willow herself was wearing bright pink, and a huge grin as she and Oz fought through the snow with their arms permanently linked. Buffy, however, was walking along until, with a yelp, she completely disappeared into a drift. Laughing hard, George and Xander helped her up, almost falling in them-selves. She was covered in snow from head to foot, and not one of them could help bawling with laughter.

"Shut up!" She cried indignantly, eventually resorting to chucking a huge snowball at Harry, who happily reciprocated, only Buffy dodged and it hit George… and a huge battle ensued.

At some stage, and unspoken agreement turned it into a battle of the sexes, all the girls using any means possible to plaster the boys in snow. Willow wasn't even touching her snowballs as they flew in all directions.

"RUN!" Buffy cried, laughing, as the boys yelled war cries and charged. Stumbling and dragging each other along, they rushed down the hill, until eventually Luna's foot sank just that bit too far into the snow and she tumbled head over heels into the powder, tripping the boy right on her heels. They ended up in a tangled mess, laughing fit to burst and apologising breathlessly. When the apparently endless reel of material was finally tamed, Luna realised that the boy on top of her in her recently made snow ditch was in fact Harry, somewhere within the scarf.

"Sorry!" He cried, trying to stand up with little success. She giggled. They wriggled round until they were both crouched precariously in the snowy, icy hole. Holding onto each other for support, they managed to stand, finding that the hole came to just above waist height. "Here." Harry said. He linked his hands together as a step and helped Luna out, then scrambled out himself. "You ok?"

"Fine." She giggled, brushing a load of snow off Harry's even messier than usual hair. "But you look like a snowman."

Harry smirked,

"You don't look much better." He retorted. She made an indignant noise and chucked a handful of snow at him. He countered, making her step back and lose her balance on the edge of the hole. Harry's eyes went wide, and he grabbed her just in time, tugging her back from the edge. For a moment they just stood there, Harry holding onto her as if waiting to see if there were stable.

"Thanks." She said, gazing with that odd look of hers, into his eyes. Harry swallowed,

"Er… that's, um…" He frowned, "Erm… fine. That's fine." He let go, and each of them carefully examined a patch of snow off to the side, biting their lip or absent mindedly brushing snow off. "Should we go find the others?" Harry suggested finally.

"Yeah. Good idea." Luna agreed, and they set off, still not quite looking at each other.

It wasn't long before they found the others, as they were making quite a racket, shrieking and yelling as they threw snowballs as each other. George had Buffy pinned down in the snow and was tickling her into submission while she giggled and cried out alternately and tried hopelessly to push him off. Hagrid's dog, Fang had been let out, and was leaping to catch snowballs mid-flight, looking both shock and delighted every time the caught snowball exploded in his face. Xander, Oz, Fred, Ron, Draco and Neville (Giles seemed to have returned to the warm building) were attempting, rather fruitlessly, to hold off a siege by Hermione, Ginny, Faith, Amity, Willow, Tara and Anya. Harry and Luna both laughed at the sight, glancing at each other. Luna grinned, and Harry's eyes widened. She had a snowball in her hand. He ducked as she loosed it, and it only skimmed him, but he yelled and ran for the group, as they seemed to have a pile of pre-prepared snowballs at hand. They called their greeting, saying how this would even the teams… until they saw Luna, and realised Harry had simply bought another girl to lob snow at them.

"We're doomed." Ron said despairingly.

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Hoped you liked it with the angst and the fluff…

Please review!!! And Merry mid-Advent!! grins


	66. Christmas part2

Hey guys, sorry it's been so long- hectic Christmas time!! Hope you've all been having great holidays! 

Accursed muffin- sorry, but as the author, I will have any pairings I feel like. Screw the rules. And Willow and Oz are together.

So here we are, brand new chappie- please enjoy!

Chapter 66 

When they eventually got bored, and very cold, the large group trooped back to the castle, and up to Buffy's room again for hot-chocolate, and a self-refilling plate of warm cookies that had appeared. Despite their various worries, each and every one of them was smiling. When they started playing Charades, however, Faith retreated, saying she would do a quick sweep, for even at Christmas demons might lurk. Buffy was too wound up in the festive spirit to worry that she had ulterior motives for leaving.

Faith wrapped up warm and left the castle again, loving the silence of the beautiful landscape- something she'd rarely experienced in her life, having always been a city girl. It seemed like a very long time since she had awoken from the coma, but in truth it had been mere months. She hadn't been here even half a year, and yet this place put her more at peace than anywhere. She wondered why.

"Aren't you cold?" She heard a voice. She spun round, shocked- of course she hadn't heard his approach across the soft snow.

"No." She replied simply.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

"Five by five." She answered.

"But you're not patrolling." It was very much a statement, not a question.

"No." She said, finally turning back and continuing her path. He hurried to walk by her side. "I just…" She smiled, "Never liked Charades much."

"But you're such a good actor." He said with the slightest hint of bitterness. She glanced a him,

"What are you doing out here Xander?"

"Just wanted to know you're ok- you've been avoiding me since we got here."

"No I haven't." She said far too quickly. He smirked, and she rolled her eyes. "It's just… awkward." She said quietly.

"Because of Anya?" He asked. She shot him a glare to melt ice,

"Why would your girlfriend make things awkward?" She snapped, "I told you before…"

"I know, I know, there's nothing between us." He said tiredly. She nodded stiffly. "So what then?" He asked after a pause.

"Just… everything." She replied.

"So you're fine with Will, and Buffy, and even Giles, but not me?"

Faith didn't reply as they continued through the snow. She shrugged eventually,

"I don't know." She said.

"Faith…" He said, catching her arm, stopping her. "Yesterday… with the…" "Mistletoe? You heard Buffy- it was enchanted."

"Bull." He snapped. "That was a cover up and you know it."

"No." She said, though it came out as a bit of a croak.

"Faith…"

"You have a girlfriend!" She snapped, "I thought you were meant to be a good guy?" Why was she getting so worked up? How could he _always_ do this to her?

Xander smiled softly,

"Even good guys have their moments of weakness." He said, touching her cheek. She shivered at the touch of his cold fingers, but as if he had flipped some switch, she could no longer hold herself back. When he leant forward, she did the same, and their lips met so softly, so gently… Her arms were around him now, feeling his warmth through the cold tips of her fingers. And they kissed again, not feverishly as they had months ago, but intimately, almost caressing the others lips with their own. She felt tears trickle down her cheeks, but ignored them, and he only stopped when he felt the tiny droplets on his own lips. He pulled back, his hands still holding her, and hers him.

"Faith?" He asked, puzzled by her tears. She shook her head slightly,

"How can…" She trailed off, "How can we ever be?" She asked in a whisper. "After everything… and now… you're with Anya! You live in Sunnydale, and _this_ is my home now. And you and me…" She choked an odd sort of laugh, "_You_ and _me_, for fucks sake…"

He chuckled too, wiping a tear from her cheek with his thumb,

"We'll work it out."

"How? Buffy…"

"Would understand- she covered for us, remember?"

"But Anya… she's weird, but she's nice enough, and she cares about you, Xander…"

"I know." He said, sounding regretful for the first time, "I… that'll be complicated."

"Complicated? It'd be cruel."

"But…"

"Jesus, Xander…" She gasped. She felt so strange, parts of her she'd never aloud to be heard screaming out loud for all to hear, all her usual defence mechanisms in tatters on the floor. She was looking into his eyes, and she knew that no matter what she told herself, it was him that she wanted. But other parts of her had changed too. The logical parts, the rational parts… she knew it wasn't just Want Take Have any more. "It can't work." She said, "And it'd be wrong."

"No!" He said, though his voice belied his agreement. "No, we could figure it out, we have to try!"

"We have." She replied sadly. She leant up, kissing him again and savouring the taste and feeling of him. They clung to each other, kissing desperately now, knowing that any moment one of them would have the sense to simply stop it, to pull away and end it forever, but they would make the most of their last moments- each felt that they had to.

Many stories up, at one of Buffy's windows, a girl with deep red hair watched, tears in her eyes.

"You ok?" Buffy asked, shocking her.

"Huh? Oh yeah, fine." Amity said quickly. "I… I'm gonna go. I'll see you guys later." Before Buffy could say another word she was gone. Buffy frowned, and looked out of the window, to see what Amity had been watching. She bit her lip. Uh-oh, she thought.

"Hey." Buffy said when she was admitted to Faith's room later that night.

"Hey B." Faith said with a strained smile- the sort of smile you give when you're ill but trying to put on a brave face.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, five by five."

"Any demons?"

"Nope, none." Faith replied.

"Is Amity ok?" Buffy asked, sitting down. Faith frowned at her,

"What do you mean?"

"She ran off earlier, crying."

"She did? Why? When?"

"When you were outside." Buffy said, looking pointedly at the other slayer. "She was watching you from the window."

Faith swallowed,

"She… she was?"

"Does she have a crush on Xander or something?" Buffy asked. Faith choked on nothing, and Buffy simply waited for her to compose herself and answer.

"I… I don't know." Faith finally replied.

"And… what's happening?" Buffy asked, "I mean, with you and him?"

Faith looked away, and Buffy could feel her sadness,

"Nothing." She said hollowly.

"That didn't _look_ like nothing…" Buffy began.

"It wasn't… but it is now. It's over." Faith said.

"Over?" Buffy repeated dumbfounded, "How long has it been, well… not over?"

Faith looked shakily up at her,

"Since they were here before." She replied in little more than a whisper. "We just kissed, but… I blew him off. I told him I didn't want it." She laughed, "I lied."

"I had no idea." Buffy said, shaking her head.

"That kinda _was_ the idea." Faith said with a mirthless smirk. "But, anyway… it's over now. It couldn't work, and it was unfair to Anya, and… it's over."

"And you guys are ok about that?"

"We'll have to be, wont we?"

"Faith…"

"It's cool, B. It's fine. _I'm_ fine. He's fine."

Buffy nodded slowly.

"Well I'm gonna go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah. G'night."

"Good night."

After Buffy left, Faith went up to Amity's room, knocking on the door. There was a pause, but just before Faith knocked again, she heard her friend's voice,

"Come in."

She did so, and saw Amity sitting reading on her bed.

"Hey." Faith said.

"Hi."

"Buffy said you were upset before."

"She did?" Amity shook her head, "Oh… that… no, I… I just had something in my eye."

"Yeah right." Faith said, smirking and sitting on the edge of Ami's bed. "What's up? I gather you saw me and Xander…?"

"Yeah." Ami said, not meeting the slayer's eyes.

"So..? Do you have a thing for Xander?"

"What?" Amity gasped. She squeezed her eyes shut, chuckling, "No. Merlin, no."

"So what's up then?" Faith prodded. Amity finally looked at her properly, and sighed,

"It's nothing."

"Yes it is!" Faith exclaimed, "Please, Ami, I'm your friend- tell me what's wrong!"

"It's not important… and you wouldn't understand."

"Sure I would, Ami please."

"No."

"I told you everything, you don't have to hide anything from me."

"Fine!" Ami cried, "You wanna know?"

"Yes!"

But she was definitely not prepared for what came next.

Ami leant forward quickly, one hand coming to each side of Faith's face, and her lips meeting Faith's firmly, longingly. When she sat back again, Faith gasped, eyes wide, "Ami…"

"See?" the redhead snapped, her eyes wet again, "I knew you wouldn't understand."

"Ami, no… I just…"

"You what?"

Faith swallowed, extremely confused,

"I just had no clue… I didn't… I mean…" She trailed off, and then gave a half grin, "I had no idea you swung that way."

Amity couldn't help but chuckle, and shrugged,

"Yup."

"See now that you shoulda told me a long time ago."

"I thought…" Amity sighed, "No, I …convinced myself… that you already knew."

"Oh Ami…" Faith shook her head, "God, I'm so sorry… I had no idea…I… I'm sorry…"

But Amity shook her head,

"No, no, it's ok, it's fine. I knew that you liked him since that first time they were here… I was stupid to make myself think otherwise." She looked Faith over and sighed, "You're straight…" then she grinned, "Mostly."

"Mostly? What do you mean mostly?" Faith scoffed in shock. "I've _never_ gotten with another girl, or wanted to for that matter." For a moment she feared that this could hurt Ami, but oddly the redhead just grinned wider.

"Fine." She said.

"What do you mean?" Faith demanded.

"Oh nothing."

"Ami!" Faith cried, really completely bewildered now. Amity smiled,

"Lets just say that once you're on that side of the fence, you can see exactly who's sitting on the other side, or who's sitting on the fence… and who is sitting with them."

"What? That makes no sense at all."

"You used to go clubbing with Buffy right? You told me that."

"Once or twice…"

Amity just raised her eyebrows while the slayer wracked her brains.

"Clubbing doesn't mean…You're not trying to say…?"

Ami grinned.

"Oh gross." Faith exclaimed, "No way."

"Whatever you say." Ami picked up her book and hid her face.

"Ami! Ew, oh god, no way…"

Amity giggled with childish amusement.

The holidays passed enjoyably, the tension finally gone between Faith and Xander, though those who knew what they were looking for could see the sorrow in each of their eyes. Harry found more and more often that Luna really was a lot of fun to talk to, and not just because of the bizarre topics she tended to pick. Amity was often to be found talking to Willow's friend Tara, whose confession to Buffy that she had a thing for redheads soon had Buffy gaping in shock as realisation dawned.

But all too soon, the start of a new term loomed, and the group had one last little party on new years eve, the various couples kissing at midnight. Harry was standing watching as Oz and Willow, Buffy and George, Ron and Hermione and Xander and Anya welcomed in the new year, when he felt a nervous little tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Luna, very very bright red, looking up at him with an expression of deep confusion and embarrassment. He frowned for a moment, but suddenly broke into a smile, and kissed her. It only lasted a second, but when they parted, she was beaming, and Harry was doing a great beetroot impression too. She grinned, and, slightly dazed, they sat down together, now and then shooting each other happy but bewildered glances. Faith, Ginny and Fred sat aside, and sighed, feeling happy for the others, but disappointed that they had no one of their own, or in Ginny's case, that he had gone home for Christmas. Faith grinned, feeling just a little strange, when she saw Amity give Tara a peck on the cheek.

The next Saturday was the last day of the holidays, so the scoobies prepared to leave. They gathered once more in the Gryffindor common room, saying their goodbyes. Faith and Xander shared a short hug, smiling their goodbyes to each other. Tara and Amity smiled shyly and swore to write to each other. Spike stood around asking if they could go yet, and Giles said his good byes to the teachers. Willow and Oz were saying good bye to Lupin, who had once again spent many hours talking to Oz. Finally they all hugged Buffy and Harry goodbye and as seemed now traditional, forced promises that the siblings would call on them the moment help was needed. Then they each took their turn to step into the flames and be whisked away, to reappear only moments later in the Summers living room so many miles away.

There was a heavy silence once they'd gone, that was eventually broken by Draco, who had ended up spending most of the holiday in the Gryffindor boys dorm, saying,

"I'll get my stuff then."

"Oh, me too." Luna said. They headed for the stairs, and the others flopped into chairs.

"Back to work tomorrow then." Lupin sighed. Harry and Ron groaned. Lupin grinned, "You done that two foot essay for me?" He asked. The two boys eyes, not to mention Hermione's, went wide,

"WHAT ESSAY?" They all cried in perfect unison. He chuckled indulgently, and they all glared,

"Sorry, I couldn't resist." He said. Hermione took great calming breaths, and Ron fanned her with his hands, only gaining a glare back from his girl.

The following weeks passed uneventfully. The DA got better and better, Lupin and Sirius both helping out now and then; Harry and Luna began frequently meeting with various excuses, and soon became widely recognised as a very odd, but significant, couple; and the entire school spirit seemed much more united since the Gentlemen's attack. Most news from the school and from Sunnydale was exchanged in frequent letters sent between Ami and Tara, using either school owls, or Willow's now fully fledge screech owl, who Xander had tried very hard to call 'Pug' due to its rather squashed looking face, and inspired by Ron's 'Pig'. However, Willow had managed to inforce Mercury, the name of the Roman messenger god. Faith was happy for Amity, of course, but still felt a weird pang at the knowledge that she had now turned down two people she knew cared greatly for her. She wondered if she would ever have the guts to go through with a real relationship. George and Buffy were going strong- the twins had made excuse after excuse to stay at Hogwarts and were pretty much accepted as permanent residents, though George was noted to spend many more nights in Buffy's room than his own.

However, through the months of calm, Harry was not the only one to feel that eventually the storm would have to break out. He still had not confided in his best friends about the prophecy- only Buffy and Dumbledore knew. And Buffy in turn had not revealed everything she had seen in her bizarre dreams the previous summer. She knew all too well that not all the scenes she had seen of Faith had been fulfilled, and as much as she tried to convince herself that maybe she had already prevented these and others, much of her knew this was not true. But the two siblings kept their worries hidden, each time they nearly spilled out, worrying about shattering the wonderful feeling of comfort and security that had filled the castle. I'll tell them later, they both kept thinking. And only once or twice did Harry consider that he was doing exactly what he had screamed at Dumbledore about last year.

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There we go, angst, fluff and forboding all in one.

Please review!!


	67. The initiative

Hey guys! I know, I know, I haven't updated for aaaaaaaggggesss, and I'm so sososo sorry! I've had a totally hectic time since Christmas, and my laptop is totally messed up, so it hasn't been easy for me to write, but now i've managed to transfer this story to the family PC, and voila- new chapter. And a very long one at that!

Not many author notes or review replies, just to say to Cyndur- I'm 18 in exactly a month from today:D

Chapter 67- The Initiative

It was only around Easter that the Death-eater reports started to come in. At first it was hard to spot, just an attack here and there that people were able to fob off as muggle violence, but soon the rate increased, muggles and squibs were targeted, and several well-known aurors too. Once Dark Marks started appearing, no one could deny it. Hogwarts was tense once more. Every time there was a report, whispers rang round the school. The numbers in the defence classes increased still more, and the DA grew again. Even Muggles knew about what was happening, though they were still making up excuses about terrorist groups. There were world-wide summits, both muggle and magic, and even some mixed, about what to do, but three people in a castle hidden away somewhere in England, knew that all these precautions would only do so much. Only one person could end it once and for all.

Letters from Sunnydale however, now reported a decrease in demonic activity, and Buffy had a sneaking suspicion about what was causing it. But far from taking it as a good sign, she knew all too well that those army guys taking in hundreds of demons to lock up and experiment on was a severely bad idea. She asked her friends to look out for anything odd, and to above all, be careful.

The War had truly begun.

A week after the Summer term began, a letter arrived reporting huge military activity in Sunnydale. Something had happened. The scoobies didn't know precisely what, but it wasn't hard to guess that some experiment or other had gone seriously to pot. Dumbledore contacted wizards he knew in LA- no witches or wizards lived in Sunnydale for the huge amount of raw magic often disrupted wand spells, but Dumbledore's contacts managed to detect, through all the 'background magic' a rising power- something un-natural rather than just supernatural. The news merely made Buffy roll her eyes,

"Looks like I'm heading to Sunnydale." She said. Everybody argued, but she said simply that the last thing they needed was for some other powerful being to join Voldemort- it made much more sense to take this thing out before it had a chance. Dumbledore finally agreed.

-

"I'm glad you could come, Buffy." Giles said when she arrived, "It's good to see you- how are things at Hogwarts?"

Buffy sighed,

"Tense." She replied. "Very, very tense. Everybody is freaking. It's like… well, essentially, Voldemort has declared war." Giles nodded knowingly. Buffy sighed again, "So." She said, "This demon thingy dude- what's the what?"

"All we really know is that it's something called 314, which has escaped from the army base beneath the university."

Buffy sighed,

"Ugh, the idiots shoulda taken my advice." She declared. "Ok- do we have any idea what 314 _is_?"

"Powerful, and inquisitive." Giles replied.

"Inquisitive?" Buffy repeated. Willow grimaced,

"Yeah… it… it um, _dissected_ a kid."

"Dissected?" Buffy closed her eyes briefly, "Gross."

"Quite." Giles agreed.

"Not to mention several other 'suspicious' deaths that the army have jumped on right away." Xander added, "Including one of Will's professors."

Buffy sighed,

"Ok, right, so… any base of operations?"

"Judging from attacks so far, it seems to be based around the Uni." Willow supplied. Buffy nodded,

"Right… Could it still be in the base then?"

"I suppose that's a possibility…" Giles said thoughtfully.

"I guess I'll have to do some re-con before just apparating in there though." Buffy reasoned.

"You can come to school with me and Tara!" Willow said excitedly, and the shy blonde nodded, smiling.

"Cool." Buffy said. "That way I can check out the area… and see the school I never actually got to." Will looked a little sad, but Buffy perked up, "Hey, it's fine- I'm learning all about a _whole_ loada stuff I'm pretty sure they don't teach at UC Sunnydale."

"Quite." Giles said cheerily.

"Now who's for food?" Xander said, rubbing his palms together. The group laughed, and Buffy once again realised how much she missed them while she was away.

The next day, Buffy set out with Willow and Tara to the Uni, hiding her wand away, and finding that she felt odd heading for what was essentially a school, in muggle clothes. At Hogwarts she had taken to wearing robes a lot of the time, and sauntering in wearing jeans and a strap top felt rather unorthodox. She and Willow split from Tara and headed for the Psych. lecture. They were chatting about Buffy's first year defence class and how surprisingly well they had improved, when they walked into the room and Buffy yelped, grabbing Willow and dragging her back out.

"What?" Willow cried indignantly. Buffy shh-ed her and glanced back in,

"Who is that guy?" Buffy asked seriously. Willow grinned,

"Ooh, that's Riley. He's the TA."

"As in territorial army?" Buffy asked. Will frowned,

"Noo, as in teaching assistant."

"What? But he's one of the commandos! He was the leader of the team when I got you outta there!" She cried in a whisper. Willow opened and closed her mouth several times,

"No. No way… he's… no… Riley's… well…. Normal."

"Didn't you _see_ him?"

Willow shook her head,

"I didn't see any of their faces."

At that moment, the substitute professor arrived, and Willow forced Buffy into the room and into a seat. Buffy clenched her teeth in annoyance, finding it all too coincidental that the TA to the woman killed by '314', was a commando. She scribbled on a piece of paper and passed it to Willow-

Im following the TA after class.

Willow shook her head, eyes wide with fear, but Buffy turned decisively away, looking down at the soldier with a curious, inquisitive expression he managed to mistake for interest in the lecture.

After the class, Buffy squeezed Willow's arm silently, and headed out behind the Teaching assistant. Much to her shock, only a little way down the hall, he turned and smiled,

"You're Willow's friend, right?"

Buffy glanced behind her,

"Uh, me?"

He chuckled,

"Yeah, you."

"Oh… yeah… that's me…" She smiled weakly as they continued to walk, side by side.

"So are you auditing? Or just spending the day with her?"

"Oh, just in town for a couple of days, thought I might as well come check out college life."

"You're not at college yourself?"

Buffy was a little taken aback,

"Ah… no. No- I was gonna, but… stuff came up. I'm actually working in a school at the moment- in England."

"Wow." He raised his eyebrows. "Don't you need qualifications and stuff?"

"Not for what I teach." Buffy scoffed before she could stop herself.

"What do you teach?" He asked the inevitable question.

"Er… self defence." She said, realising that there was no reason to lie.

"Wow." He repeated. Buffy nodded,

"Yeah, it's cool."

There was an awkward silence before he eventually said,

"Oh, god, I've been so rude- I'm Riley, Riley Finn." He stuck out his hand.

"Buffy." She replied, "P…S… Potter."

He raised his eyebrows again, and they both chuckled, "Sorry." She said, finding it utterly incredible that she was not only chatting with, but apologising to the guy she was meant to be stalking. "I recently found out I was adopted, and my adoptive mother died…" She trailed off, "I get confused which name I should use."

He nodded sympathetically. They had reached a tall brick building, and gesturing with a thumb, he shrugged,

"Well this is me."

"Oh. Right."

"So… maybe I'll see you around?"

"Maybe." Buffy said, holding back a snigger. He raised one hand in a wave, and entered the building. Buffy stood to one side, counting to ten, then peered round the corner. He was standing in front of a piece of wall down a hall opposite the door, standing very straight. Buffy frowned, and crept in, circling round behind him through the deserted room, and from her new vantage point, saw some sort of scan move over him, and the mirror he was before slid away to reveal an elevator. But before he could step in, Buffy was on him. She used his own height to hide herself when she slammed him against the wall, and in the gruffest voice she could muster, she said,

"What is 314?"

"What?" He snapped, "I don't know what you're talking about." He kept shooting guilty looks at the elevator.

"Oh don't worry about that." Buffy told him, "I have better ways in. Tell me what the project is! It escaped and now it's killing people!" She cried, "I told you you guys couldn't deal with this!"

"You… oh my god! You're the one who attacked us before… you took Willow… Its you, her friend!"

Buffy had realised her mistake immediately.

"Shut up!" She snapped, pulling his arm up sharply and painfully, "…Tell me about the experiment so I can clean up your mess before it kills again!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" He yelled.

"Something escaped. It's killed people- it killed Professor Walsh! You_ do_ know what I'm talking about!"

"How do you know all this?" He asked exasperatedly.

"Just _tell_ _me_."

"I don't know… there was a polgara demon… but these patterns…"

"They don't match a polgara." Buffy shook her head.

"No." He agreed. "Could you please let go of my arm? I already know what you look like." Buffy considered this a moment, and let him go. He turned rubbing his arm and examining her more carefully. "How are you so strong?"

"Long story. Not important." She said shortly. "The patterns suggest that the thing is living near here."

"I know."

"Probably actually within your facility."

He shook his head,

"That's not possible. We would know."

"You sure? Maybe someone does know- if you don't know about the experiment…"

"No… I…"

Buffy raised an eyebrow, and he rubbed his forehead with one hand,

"Oh god this is so screwed up."

"Yah." Buffy replied flippantly. "Look… you must have, like, blue prints or something. There must be some kind of way of seeing if there are places in there that you didn't know about."

He looked positively terrified by that idea,

"Look, if I don't know, I'm not meant to…"

"I don't give a shit!" Buffy snapped, "People are dying, and I don't care if that's part of your bosses' plans, I'm gonna stop it- with or without your help. With, you stay conscious. Without, you see birdies." She raised a fist threateningly, "Which is it gonna be?"

He rolled his eyes,

"Ok, ok." He said. He stood before the mirror again, "I can get you in, and as everyone is either at work or dealing with over crowding, I doubt anyone will notice."

"One wrong move." Buffy warned. He just nodded, and stepped into the lift when it opened up again. Buffy joined him, and they began to descend. He gave voice ID, and soon enough they emerged back into huge underground room. They had barely gone a few steps when soldiers appeared from seemingly nowhere, surrounding them, and Riley too turned on her with a small taser.

"Freeze." He said. Buffy rolled her eyes.

"_Bad_ idea." She said, thumping him between the eyes and disappearing with a loud crack. Finn slumped unconscious on the floor, and the others looked around, bewildered. Buffy appeared for mere moments in every room she could find, searching for any computers or filing cabinets that might hold any clues. Finally she found herself before a door labelled '314'.

"Bingo." She murmured, and popped inside the locked room. There were blood stains still on the floor, and trays of medical equipment lay beside metal gurneys. And there was a filing cabinet. She grinned, and tugged the handle… but it was locked. "Alohomora." She said, pointing her wand at it. Within were several discs- she grimaced. How was she meant to know which would help? So she picked one at random and stuck it in the computer nearby… and a box popped up asking for a password. Buffy groaned, "_Shit!"_ she moaned.

"FREEZE!" Yelled a harsh voice. Buffy turned slowly, while rolling her eyes. A group of soldiers stood in the doorway.

"Now boys, I thought you'd have gotten by now that I can just disappear at a moment's notice, so you saying 'freeze' really doesn't help any."

They looked a bit awkward, but kept their guns raised. She heard someone telling people to get out of the way, and Finn staggered to the front, his nose swelling nastily already.

"What room is this?" She heard him asking someone.

"314, sir." A soldier replied. Finn's eyes snapped immediately to Buffy, and she raised her eyebrows in an 'I told you so' expression. He looked around the room, noting the blood stains.

"Theres a hella load of files here… I'm not gonna find the bastard without your help."

"This is military business. You are trespassing and…"

"You still don't get it, do you?" She snapped angrily. "This is not military business. This is _my_ business, and you guys are trying to play my game, only you're trying to rewrite the rules, and it isn't working. This isn't just an animal, it's a demon. My job is to fight them, and you will not destroy it without me. I'll find it on my own if I have to, but it'll take longer, and more people might die. Ball's in your court." A moment later several soldiers rushed her, and other fired tasers. And a moment after that, all but Finn lay unconscious. "Last chance." She snarled. "Walsh was in charge here, wasn't she?" She asked. Finn nodded stiffly. "And it killed her." Another nod. "So please, help me find her killer. Help me stop it!"

Finn faltered, his eyes betraying the emotional stress he'd been under of late.

"I can get plans." He said finally.

"What room? Where?" She asked.

"I…"

"Just tell me!"

"The office down the hall. The cabinet on the left, top drawer… but its locked."

"Not a problem." Buffy said with a smirk, and disappeared, coming back a minute later with rolled up plans.

"How did you…"

"Don't ask." Buffy cut him off. He shook his head, clearly not believing he was really doing this. They rolled out the plans on a gurney. They showed all electrical cables and any piping in the compound… and one line lead to nothing. "Well isn't that odd." She said, sounding very un-surprised.

"That's… that's right behind here!" Finn exclaimed. Buffy's grinned widened, and she turned to the walls, looking for a crack or opening. Together they managed to prise open the hidden entrance. Sharing a nervous glance, each shifted their grip on their weapon.

They walked together into the hidden lab, Finn's mind boggling- this civilian girl, who had attacked their facility twice now, easily, was right. She knew more about what was going on here than he did! He had been lied to! He just followed orders and believed everything he was told… but clearly he'd been wrong. Finn swallowed, wondering what awful beast awaited them. He knew exactly which HST's he'd been ordered to bring in alive. He knew which deadly creatures were likely to have contributed to whatever this failed experiment was… he knew that a pologara's skewer had killed Professor Walsh…

They encountered nothing particularly strange until they reached what seemed to be an office- there was computer junk everywhere, and a cluttered desk holding several PCs. A foul smell reached them, and neither wanted to consider what it was, though both could guess.

"Someone's been busy." Buffy commented.

"Seems so." Finn agreed with a grimace. "Question is: what is he?"

"You tell me!" Buffy exclaimed, "You must have some idea of what 314 was!"

"Me." Said a deep voice, and both spun round, furious with themselves for not hearing its approach. Buffy looked the thing up and down- it was a Frankenstein-like jigsaw puzzle of human, demon, and robot, and looked positively thrilled to see them. Finn's automatic reaction was to fire… but the creature merely smiled, stretching as if the blast was very relaxing.

"Crap." Buffy commented.

"What the hell are you?" Finn exclaimed, sickened further that Professor Walsh could have created this.

"Proffesor Walsh called me Adam." It said, "And I called her mother. You are Riley Finn. You are my brother."

Buffy raised her eyebrows, looking at the soldier, ready to slap him right round the head.

"What?" He gasped, "No I'm not, that's insane."

"Not at all. Mother had great plans for us both. It is not time for you yet though… why have you com?."

"To destroy you!" Finn snapped, "You killed Professor Walsh!"

Adam laughed,

"She created me for one reason, brother. To kill. I am one of the few beings on this earth that knows of its purpose…"

"What_ever!_" Buffy said, rolling her eyes, "Can we kill this guy now?"

"And how do you intend to do that? My power source far surpasses your petty mortal shells!"

Buffy had had enough. And Adam had just given her a vital clue. She screwed up her face in thought, wondering if it really could be this simple… she shrugged, it was worth a try. She raised her wand,

"Accio powersource!" She cried. Adam looked horrified, but Buffy and Finn found themselves unable to pry their eyes from the gruesome sight- Adam's chest was bulging, like in one of those alien movies, and finally the tough hide gave way, and a glowing device covered in slime flew into Buffy's hand. She gaped at it for a moment before swiftly dropping it with a cry of "Ew!"

Adam wobbled, eyes wide with shock, and collapsed. Finn starred at the body, then at Buffy,

"How the hell did you…?"

"Reducto." Buffy said, pointing the wand at the power source and praying that the magical interference in Sunnydale wouldn't prevent this slightly more complex spell. The power source disintegrated though, so she smiled, "Yey."

"Ok, now you have to explain- how did you know? How did you do that? How do you do that disappearing thing? What the hell is that stick…?"

"Thanks for your help." Buffy said with an infuriating grin. She gave him a little wave, and even as he said,

"Don't you dare…!" She disapparated. Riley Finn shook his head in amazed disbelief, partially hoping the any time now he would wake up to realise the whole thing was just a very strange, bad dream.

-

Buffy reappeared only moments later in her own living room, causing the assembled scoobies to jump in shock.

"Buffy!" Willow exclaimed, "Did you find anything out?"

"Uh-huh." Buffy replied, "Science plus magic equals gross out."

They all frowned, making her grin wider, "Demon robot experiment guy is toast."

"Dear lord. That was rather quick." Giles exclaimed.

"I know." Buffy said proudly, "And much simpler than I expected- 'accio, splat'."

"Thanks for the visuals, Buff." Xander commented. Buffy grinned at him, and only now noticed the absence of Anya. She opened her mouth, but stopped the words at a harsh look from willow. She made a mental note to ask later.

"So… the situation is resolved?" Giles asked.

"Yup. All done." Buffy sighed, "Wish Voldie was that simple." She flopped onto the couch.

"Still no progress?" Willow asked.

"Oh _he's_ making progress." Buffy said. "The death rates are increasing, and not just in England. Bloody dark marks are turning up everywhere. All the muggle governments know… Fudge is totally having a breakdown. I swear Dumbledore is running the whole show… and to top it off, Harry is getting… edgy."

"You think something big is coming?" Tara asked quietly. Buffy nodded slowly,

"I know it. And so does he… I just don't know how to…" She trailed off. Of course these guys didn't know about the prophesy, and she wasn't going to betray Harry's trust.

"It'll be ok, Buff." Xander said. Buffy forced a smile for her friend, her rock… though she noticed a strange sort of… emptiness in him.

"Would you like us to come back with you?" Giles asked. "It sounds as if you could do with some help."

"And leave the hellmouth unguarded?" Buffy said, shaking her head, "No way. It could be just what he wants… I don't think that's a good idea right now. If I need you, I'll call."

"Buffy…" Willow said worriedly, but Buffy cut her off, resting a hand on top of the wicca's,

"I'll be ok, Will." She said. "Everything will work out eventually."

"Well… at least have a cup of tea before you go." Willow said, looking pointedly at Buffy. Buffy nodded,

"Ok, fine, ill help you make it… I need to wash my hand anyway…"

The best friends headed for the kitchen, Buffy grimacing at the slime still covering her hand, and no one was dumb enough to follow.

"Where's Anya?" Buffy asked the moment they were out of earshot.

"No idea." Willow sighed, "Gone."

"She dumped him, or…?"

"No… I think it was a sorta mutual agreement type thing… she said… she said that it seemed like his mind was always somewhere else… I guess she meant with the whole worrying about the demon dude, and you guys over in England."

"Yeah." Buffy sighed, though she wasn't filling in 'Buffy and Harry' for 'you guys' she had a feeling that Xander's mind was still on someone else altogether.

"Buffy?" Willow snapped her out of her thoughts,

"Yeah? Oh… er, is he ok?"

"Yeah, I think so… he's been weird for a while now though."

Buffy sighed,

"I just wanna get all this sorted, so everyone can get back to normal."

"Tell me about it." Willow agreed. Then she smile softly, "Despite the circumstances, its good to see you, Buffy."

"You too Will." Buffy said, hugging the redhead, "You too."

-

Sorry for the rather rushed Adam killing- I wanted to include it without getting bogged down in season 4 stuff!

Hope you liked it- please review and inspire me to post real quick:D innocent grin


	68. The Truth

Heya guys

Sorry for the lengthy no-update yet again, but I swear to you its getting close now- this fic is sooo nearly done! Thanks for your reviews, im glad most of you liked my swift dealing with Adam!

Silver Warrior- Sorry! I am so so sorry for miss using that spell- I could swear that there was a spell that just made stuff disappear though… any idea what it is?

Celestial Raven- This is equivalent to season 4 right now, so Glory wont be showing up unless I do go through with my vaguely planned sequel.

Phoenix83ad- Ok, Im sorry that you didn't like the ease in which Buffy destroyed adam, but as I explained, he isn't a big deal in my story line. I wanted to include him because he WAS a big deal in Buffy, but I wasn't going to send my story off in a totally different direction in order to copy out pages of Buffy script, that's utterly pointless. She's different from how she was in the show, she has her magic and she uses it. The whole xander/anya thing was meant to be very ambiguous because the characters don't know the whole deal yet either. Willow has no clue about Xander and Faith, so of course she wouldn't have made any connection there. Sorry again, but that was exactly how I intended it. And Riley, frankly, I hated the character. I never write Buffy/Riley because I can't stand him. In the context of this story there is no way she could get with him anyway because of the situation in which they met, so sorry, it's not happening.

And now for the new chapter- enjoy!

Chapter 68- The truth

"Harry?"

The boy who lived starred out across the still water of the lake, unaware of the damp seeping through his cloak as he sat on the sodden bank.

"Harry?"

He'd been getting more and more distant of late, his mind continuously reverting to the words of the prophesy.

"_Harry?_Can you even hear me? _HARRY?_"

He snapped out of it,

"Huh? Wha…?" He looked around, to find Luna crouched beside him, eyes wide with worry. "Oh… Luna."

"Are you ok?" She asked.

"Fine. Why?"

"I've been here five minutes." She replied. Harry squeezed his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose,

"Oh god, I'm sorry Luna."

"I thought your mind had been taken over by Ukrainian bog welchers."

Harry starred at her for a moment, wondering whether or not she was serious. Then he just broke into a grin, chuckling, and hugging her, pulling her down onto his lap,

"I love that you're so weird." He laughed.

"Well you're a nut case." She retorted, leaning back against him. Harry smiled, squeezing her. She squealed, elbowing him and giggling, "And people call _me_ looney."

Harry chuckled, resting his chin on her shoulder,

"I'm sorry I've been so moody lately." He said.

"You're always moody." She replied, straight forward as ever, "It's when you say nothing that I get worried."

"I'm sorry all the same. Thanks for putting up with me."

"It has its up sides." She shrugged, grinning as he kissed her.

"Oi!" Came a loud voice from up the lawn, "You guys ever gonna come for dinner, or are you just gonna get a room?"

The couple laughed, and stood together, making their way up towards Ron and heading inside.

-

Two days after returning, Buffy looked around at the assembled group in the Great Hall- the Order meetings had been getting larger over the past months, expanding well out of the order itself and now Buffy was preparing to give her most recent report to over fifty people, including the minister for magic, some thirty aurors, representatives from many mystical minority groups, and, though she still found it incredibly bizarre (as he probably did too) the British Prime Minister.

"Ok." Buffy said, taking a deep breath. "As you all know, the situation is getting worse by the day. Good news is that the power rising in Sunnydale has been neutralised, so there is no chance of Voldemort calling him in for help. Bad news is that my underground sources tell me that Voldemort's own strength is well known in the demon world, and…"

"Im sorry, 'demons'? we're really using that word? Demons?" The Prime Minster sounded more than a little scathing.

"Yes, sir." Buffy replied, not in the least bit intimidated. "Demons. Creatures of the night, whatever you want to call them. Some come from other dimensions, and some have been here all the time, but either way, you are simply going to have to accept the fact that they are real, and there is almost certainly a faction in your government either researching them or fighting them whether you know about it or not."

He, in contrast, seemed very put out. He had clearly not expected such strength and confidence from a girl who looked, very simply, like a cheerleader. Buffy waited a moment longer, staring him down, until she was sure he wouldn't interrupt again. Dumbledore's top lip quirked in the tiniest hint of a smile.

"As I was saying," Buffy continued, "The demons know about him, and human or not, they respect him. Sure enough they would probably turn on him afterwards, but they are all too happy to help him overthrow all of us. Think about it- he can offer them, among other things, plenty of free food- human blood on tap."

Someone made a sound of disgust.

"I know it's gross." Buffy said, nodding, "But it's the unfortunate truth- they _will_ come to his aid, and I'd bet very few of your aurors would have a clue how to handle most of them."

"A stunning curse and an axe to the head." Someone said, "How hard can it be to kill an animal?"

Buffy shut her eyes briefly- she had honestly not expected this- not from these people.

"They are _not_ 'animals'." She said stonily. "A large proportion will be completely immune to magic. A significant number wont even be hindered, let alone killed, by an axe to the head." She considered, "A few of them don't actually _have_ heads."

"And yet _you_, who are barely past second year magic, can kill them easy." Said another with more than a hint of amusement.

"I'm the slayer." Buffy said with gritted teeth, surprised by how hard it was to say it to such a large group. A few murmured, but most either knew this already, didn't know what it meant, or didn't care. The man who'd made the comment grinned,

"Oooh." He said sarcastically. Buffy snapped. She picked up the fairly blunt table knife on the table before her, and hurled it at the far wall, easily 20ft away. With a satisfying _twang_, it embedded itself in the half inch wide cement line between the huge stone bricks. The man gulped.

"Any more questions? Comments?" Buffy asked cockily, receiving bright grins from many of the group- mostly ones she already knew. "Good." She said when no one spoke up. "I'll continue then."

-

"Half of them still aren't listening to me." Buffy said when a small group was leaving the closed meeting hours later.

"But the majority are." Tonks said encouragingly.

"And that's what matters, right?" George said, slipping his arm around her. Buffy sighed,

"But what if it's not enough? They aren't taking the demon sitch' seriously, and it could double Voldemort's forces!"

"The girl has a point." Sirius agreed.

"Of course she does." Lupin said, frustrated, "That ignoramus Thompson has never been able to see past his bloody ego."

"So what are you complaining about? That stretches miles." Tonks quipped. Lupin smirked, but certainly didn't smile,

"The problem is that he has a lot of people who follow him like kids in a playground- and while he tries to ridicule Buffy, none of them will take her seriously either."

A grin crept onto Hagrid's face,

"You be thinkin' of a demonstration." He said, glee in his gruff voice.

"That can only be a bad thing." Buffy said quickly, "It'll freak Fudge out even more…"

"I think you did that sufficiently on your first encounter with the minister." Dumbledore pointed out.

"Uh, extreme circumstances to save his life!" Buffy jabbed a thumb at Sirius. "And besides, what would you do, have them stand and watch while I pummel something?"

"Why not?" Faith said with a grin.

"You volunteering to be the something?" Buffy threatened.

"I would have to think on a method." Dumbledore said cryptically, cutting them off. Buffy rolled her eyes,

"Whatever. Right now I need sleep. I have to get up in about three hours!"

"Don't we all, dear." McGonogall said tiredly. "Sleep well all."

She, followed by Buffy with her armed linked through Georges, and Sirius behind, headed up the main stairs and back towards Gryffindor tower.

"You coming in?" Buffy asked George with a coy grin as they reached her door, and the others continued on.

"I thought you were tired." He replied with a smirk.

"Well, that depends…" Buffy chuckled. George kissed her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, and her legs around his waist as he carried her to the door. "Summers." Buffy said breathlessly, and went back to kissing George. He manoeuvred them through the door, mouths locked all the time, and his fingers felt for the edge of her shirt…

"Buffy!"

George actually dropped her. Harry, Ron and Hermione's eyes were wide with shock.

"Erm… we'll just…" Hermione stuttered, moving for the door.

"Yeah, we were just going." Ron agreed.

"Uh-huh." Harry managed. Buffy rolled her eyes, picking herself up with a hand from George, who winced apologetically,

"Sorry!"

"Guys, wait." Buffy said. The trio froze. "Sorry… I should have known you'd be here. Waiting for the low down on the meeting?"

"I don't see why we can't just come." Harry gave his party line.

"We are_ so_ not going through that again, Harry." She said tiredly, "Look- it was pretty routine, apart from the bit where I mighta ranted about demons at the Prime Minister…"

Harry grinned widely,

"Wicked."

Buffy chuckled,

"It was sorta fun, yeah, but still- there really is nothing new to report…"

"You were in there five hours." Ron argued flatly.

"Exactly!" Buffy snapped, "Its three in the morning- go to bed."

"That's not what I…"

"Ron, go!" George exclaimed, "And you two- get some sleep- don't you have double potions tomorrow morning?"

All three groaned, and muttering under theirs breaths, headed for the common room door.

"Night Harry." Buffy called.

"Night." He said sullenly, slamming the door. Buffy squeezed her eyes shut, before breaking into uncontrollable giggles. George chuckled, and scooped her up, depositing her on the bed and flopping beside her.

"Sorry…" Buffy gasped

"No problem." George replied, and kissed her, stemming the laughter. Buffy smiled at him a moment, and kissed him again.

-

"Ok!" Faith exclaimed, "Good Luna, Yeah… no no no, higher than that, push her, make her stretch. Much better. Ginny, you can do better than that… knew it." She passed between the pairs as they practised downward heel kicks in the form of a stretching exercise. On the other side of the room, which had grown considerably to suit their needs, Buffy was taking another group of fifth years- they'd had to split the classes down the middle due to the huge numbers of students now turning up. Faith was secretly thrilled to be entrusted with their training, but of course she refused to admit it to anyone else, moaning about the chore at any possible opportunity. "No!" She cried, "Toes _back!_ Here…" She grabbed the pad the terrified looking boy was holding for his partner, and raised it several inches, holding it horizontally at about the girl's shoulder height. "There. Now try again. Up, round, and then down _fast_." The girl did as she was told, and a satisfying slap resounded, "Much better." The slayer grinned, "Now, again."

"No, Collin- you're gonna hurt him if you do that." Buffy said exasperatedly.

"Him? Hurt _me?_" Scoffed the Slytherin he was paired with, "Like hell." Buffy gave him a withering look,

"Trust me- if he does what I've told him, correctly, and actually hits you, he'll break your arm. No contact." She raised her voice, "That goes for the rest of you too- _no_ contact- none at all! I do not want to start an injury count!" She sighed, "Ok, that's enough- fall in!"

The students on her side of the room formed rows in front of her, their feet spread, fist held before them at waist height.

"Ok, same attack, moving forward- this time I want you concentrating on positioning- I don't give a damn about the power, but if you have a foot out of place, you're doing 10 push ups."

"Slave driver!" faith called good-naturedly across the room. Buffy smirked, and called out,

"One!" They preformed the move, and she watched carefully for the slightest of mistakes, "Good. Two!" Again. "Jacob, where should your back foot be?" The kid groaned and shifted his position, but Buffy shook her head, "Hit the deck." He dropped to attempt the push ups.

Another half hour later, the two slayers were sitting against the wall, exhausted.

"I swear these sessions are five times more tiring than regular training." Faith said. Buffy nodded, rolling her shoulders,

"Doesn't feel half as good though." She pointed out. They looked at each other, and Faith raised one eyebrow.

"Lupin and Sirius haven't checked in from patrol yet, we got some time."

"You up for it?"

"Hell yeah." Faith grinned. They got to their feet, tiredness ebbing away. It had been quite a while since either had really sparred- this should be fun.

-

For several minutes after they reached the training room, Lupin and Sirius just watched from the doorway, reluctant to interrupt the incredible display of skill and speed. Anyone who didn't know the girls might think they were trying to kill each other, except for the fact that each time they were about to land a serious blow, they froze the movement, grinning in triumph and backing off. Both men knew the control required to stop so suddenly when both parties are moving so fast.

"Damn." Sirius exclaimed, grinning.

"James would be proud." Lupin agreed. Sirius nodded,

"D'you think they know we're here?"

"Yes." Lupin said with a smirk. Buffy's grin in their direction confirmed his suspicion that the slayers were merely ignoring them.

"Just a minute gents." Faith called, neither girl pausing.

"Don't mind us." Lupin replied. Faith made a sudden sweep with one leg, but Buffy jumped it, hitting Faith in the chest while she was in this awkward position, and knocking her back. As her back hit the floor, Faith kicked out at Buffy with both feet, and the blonde rolled backwards, coming up gracefully, by which time Faith had recovered too. They each lunged forwards, and froze, both with their fists millimetres from the other's face. They grinned,

"Call it a draw?" Buffy offered.

"Ugh, if you _insist._" Faith teased. They chuckled, and relaxed, as Lupin and Sirius felt safe to enter the room.

"Anything to report?" Buffy asked.

"Nothing." Sirius sighed, "But why do I get the feeling that that's _not_ good?"

"Because it's not." Faith said simply, "If they're not here, then they're gathering somewhere else."

Lupin sighed,

"Yes, it seems so."

"Something big is coming guys…" Buffy prophesied, "Don't let your guard down for a second."

"You sound like moody." Sirius commented.

"Maybe, but it's the truth." She replied sadly.

-

Outside, as they patrolled, Buffy could tell that there was something Faith wanted to say. There was a new tension in the air since the conversation with the remaining marauders, and she had a sneaking suspicion that she knew what it was about.

"Buffy." Faith finally said.

-

"What?" Harry asked, feeling very vulnerable opposite Hermione, Ron, Neville, Luna and Ginny.

"There's something you're not telling us." Hermione cut right to the chase.

"I…" Harry tried to begin, but Ron cut him off,

"We don't wanna sound aggressive, or to get you pissed off or anything… but we've all noticed that you're seeming kinda… stressed."

"Voldemort is killing again, frequently, of course I'm stressed."

-

"You know that's not what I mean." Faith said exasperatedly.

"Sorry, but in that case, you lost me."

"Don't lie to me, B. I get that we don't always see eye to eye, but you know I can read you, and however much I hate to admit it, you can read me. Something is _up_! If you know something about Voldemort…"

"It's not like that, Faith…"

-

"I don't know anything about how to defeat him, or anything like that… I…"

"Harry, if you know anything, no matter how small, you should tell Dumbledore!"

"Dumbledore knows, 'Mione! It was him that told me!"

"Last summer… it's about what he told you after that whole thing last year…" Ron gasped in a moment of greater insight than he'd had in years.

-

"That prophecy thing they all talk about." Faith murmured, "Is that it? You know what it said?"

"Faith, please…"

"If there's reason for me not to know, then say so!" Faith snapped, annoyed. "But we're meant to be in this together…"

"I couldn't do that!" Buffy cried, "I couldn't… Harry told me in confidence, Faith, I can't just…"

-

"It's complicated." Harry sighed.

"Whatever it is- you shouldn't be scared to tell us…" Hermione soothed.

"I'm not scared." Harry snapped. "You wouldn't understand, any of you."

Luna looked hurt. For the first time since he'd known her, Harry could see that she was really stung by his words. He'd heard people say some pretty nasty things to her, and she never cared. He had at times wondered if she was simply too weird to understand them… but not now. She understood all of it, only she shut it out, refused to let it bother her… but this, Harry's anger- that _hurt._

"I should go." The Ravenclaw said quickly, "I'm not meant to be in here anyway." She stood quickly, avoiding Harry's eyes.

"Luna…" He said, sighing. She kept going. "Luna wait." She sped up. As she reached the portrait hole, Harry cursed, "Shit." And ran, "Luna!" He caught the portrait just before it slammed shut and leapt out after her, "Luna!" He grabbed her arm, spinning her round, and was shocked to see tears streaking her face.

"Get off me." She snapped. He let go, bewildered,

"Luna, I…"

"Yeah, I heard." She cut in, "I wouldn't understand. You don't trust me."

"It's not that…"

"Tell me something, Harry." She said, Looney Lovegood no where to be seen, "Has any of this ever meant a thing to you? Or am I just a girl in the year below, with a crush on the big star?"

"_What?"_ Harry exclaimed, "Luna I have _never_ treated you like that… have I? Of course I trust you! Of course it means something! God, I've never met anyone like you…"

"Yeah, there aren't many people as freakish as me."

"That's not what I mean!" He cried, "Luna, you're amazing. People call you weird, bully you, and you brush it off. You do your own thing no matter what other people say. You're intelligent, funny, brave…" He trailed off, looking totally lost, "I just don't where this has come from…"

She choked a soggy, bitter, laugh,

"Oh really? It's been there all along, Harry! You've never opened up to me, not once. All this time, we get closer and closer, and yet I know there's this big something right between us, and no matter how hard I try, I can't get past. You shut me out, and all I can do is watch from the sidelines as you get worse and worse- you're not sleeping, you're barely eating- there is something you're not telling me, and it's killing me to see how it's hurting at you!"

Harry let out a long breath, sliding down against a wall. Luna slid down beside him, wiping the tears from her face.

"I'm sorry." He murmured. "I never meant to upset you, or worry you… I didn't realise that I was being so obvious…" He looked up, finally meeting her eyes. "There is something." He said in barely more than a whisper, "And I hadn't told you cos I didn't want to scare you, or them… I… Luna, Merlin, _I_ don't know how to deal with what I know… I didn't want…"

"It's ok." She whispered, "I'm here for you. You can tell me, I swear I wont freak."

Harry smiled softly,

"Na, you are totally entitled to freak." They both chuckled. "It's… the prophesy." Harry began. "It got smashed, but Dumbledore was there when it was given, so he was able to show it to me in the pensieve."

Luna nodded, frowning slightly but saying nothing.

"The prophesy said…" He swallowed, "It said that Voldemort chose me as his equal… and that because of that… I…" He wasn't looking at her any more. He was starring off at nothing in particular, his eyes wide and unfocussed, "_Either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives..._"

"I, I don't understand." Luna said.

"Yes you do." Harry murmured.

"You have to… or he will…?" She managed. Harry just nodded. "So no one else can…?"

"Nope."

"Oh." Luna bit the edge of her lip, "Oh Merlin, Harry!" She hugged him suddenly, gripping him tight as if he were about to be torn away that second, "How could you have kept this inside you? It must have been driving you mad, oh Merlin oh Merlin, Harry you big idiot!"

He managed to laugh at that, and he kissed her,

"You're not freaked out?"

"No." She replied firmly. "Everything will be ok, and prophesies are stupid anyway!" Harry couldn't help but laugh out loud,

"Damn it I love you." He chuckled before he'd considered it. His eyes widened, and he swallowed as he heard his own words. Luna smiled broadly, and in that moment, she looked utterly gorgeous in Harry's eyes- as close to perfection as humanity gets.

"I love you too." She replied, and they kissed again.

-

"So he has to…?"

"Yes." Buffy said, her voice sounding empty.

"It'll be ok, B."

"How the hell will it be ok? Either he dies, or he becomes a murderer! How can it be ok?" She snapped. Faith said nothing, gazing at the ground. Buffy pinched the bridge of her nose, "Oh, god, I'm sorry…"

"Na." Faith shrugged, "It's the truth… But it _will _turn out right, B. He's stronger than he seems."

"I know." Buffy murmured. "I just… I hate all this tension… I mean, of course I don't want the fight to come while we're unprepared… but part of me just wants to get it over with."

"I hear that." Faith sighed.

-

Argh, sorry for the excessive fluff!

Please please review!


	69. Taken

Hey people! BIG NEWS! Guess what? Na, cant be bothered to wait- I FINISHED! This story is finito. Three more chapters after this, and then that is IT. All done!

Now to start with the sequel… hehe.

Not many other notes… I'm glad you guys liked the whole Harry/Luna idea!

And Isiwaru- they called it murder in the book, that's why I said that, and although I agree with you about it being self defence, its still gonna be a big thing… like, even though its kill or be killed, Harry will still _intend_ to kill voldie, so its still technically murder. :(

Anyway, on with the story!

Chapter 69- Taken

Harry and Luna returned to the common room hand in hand to find the other three looking pretty nervous. But Harry smirked, giving Ron enough hope to grin back, and Harry apologised,

"Its just all so messed up right now... there is some stuff." He admitted, "But I'm just not ready to talk about it much yet… I know that stinks, and I really am sorry, but…"

"It's ok Harry." Hermione said soothingly, "Tell us when you're ready. We're sorry for being so pushy."

Ron looked as if he could easily argue with that, but managed to hold back, and Harry nodded, glad that he wouldn't have to worry about explaining it for a little while at least… he just hoped that Hermione didn't figure that he'd told Luna and hassle it out of her.

Miles away, in a large suburban house, Lord Voldemort was smiling. His plans were moving along even faster than he had anticipated. Soon he would be moving into the final stages, and then Harry Potter would be out of his way for good.

"When do we strike, master?" Wormtail asked eagerly.

"The moment that the Potter girl is out of the way. If only we had been prepared when she went to Sunnydale… but no matter- she will leave the castle at some stage, and then we will move in." The dark lord smiled grimly, "Then I can kill two birds with one stone, and little Harry will walk right into my arms."

"Yes, _yes!_" Wormtail said, a blissful look on his ugly face.

"Not long now, Wormtail- soon I will rule."

It was several nights later when Buffy found herself tossing and turning, images flashing through her mind once more: the usual scenes of Voldemort laughing, interspersed with confusing ones- Harry's shocked face looking at her as he collapsed; Faith hugging a girl she didn't recognise; She heard screams of pain, cries of rage, and a sobbing voice she couldn't identify saying 'I love you…' and all of it was over shadowed by an all consuming feeling of dread which she knew was not horror at the scenes she beheld but yet another premonition- something about to happen would make her feel like that for real…

She snapped awake, sitting bolt upright in bed and jolting George awake at the same time.

"Buffy?" He murmured sleepily.

"Go back to sleep." She whispered, slipping carefully out of bed. She crossed to the window, and looked out across the dark grounds. She could feel the tension in everything- the very air knew something was coming, and Buffy was silently adding up all she had to lose. She'd always had her friends and Joyce… but then she'd lost Joyce, only to gain Harry, find Faith once more, and of course… she glanced back at the bed… she'd gained George too. All of them were involved. Every one of them was at risk, and she couldn't look out for all of them at once. Buffy felt as if she was juggling too many balls in the air, while walking the tightrope, and any moment she might lose her balance.

"I'm afraid it must be you, Buffy." Dumbledore said sincerely.

"Why? That's stupid, Dumbledore- all this happening, and…"

"Because it is you I trust! Faith has proven herself, yes, but at this time we need things done quickly and efficiently and it is you I can rely on for that."

"I don't want to leave Harry on his own right now."

"He will not be on his own. I will ensure that we have people posted round the clock to look out for him! But the situation needs dealing with. The vampires are ravaging that town- they must be stopped and the team we sent in cannot deal with them- we need a slayer."

"So Faith…" Buffy tried again, but Dumbledore shook his head,

"The quicker you go, the quicker you come back."

Buffy sucked in a deep breath and nodded slowly,

"Fine." She snapped, "Get me there."

"I don't feel right about this." Faith said yet again. "Doesn't it just sound… wrong?"

"Dumbledore must have his reasons." Lupin argued.

"For sending B in alone?"

"She's not alone."

"Whatever, I'm sorry, but a gang of vamps suddenly start taking out people in one town, slowly, a few a night, but enough to notice, at this stage, and the team cant deal, so Buffy's called in."

"She's a slayer, it's reasonable."

"But she wants to be here. I coulda taken point and let her watch Haz… I'm sorry, but it sounds like a trap to me."

"Dumbledore would never…"

"So maybe Dumble-D has been fooled too!"

"Or maybe we're all being over-paranoid?" Lupin suggested. Faith sighed, and shrugged,

"Maybe." She murmured. "You should get back to your post, I got this bit covered."

Lupin nodded, and with a forced smile, headed back down the corridor and round the corner.

Buffy walked into the small town, a stake in her hand and her wand stuck through her ponytail. This _stank_. She didn't know what, but something was very off, and the sooner she was back at Hogwarts the better. She saw the last few towns people fleeing into houses, and was satisfied that at least they did look terrified, ruling out the fact that there had been no attacks. Buffy advanced slowly, her every sense open to the surroundings- she heard the scampering of a rat in a side alley, the drag of a fallen leaf as it was blown across the street in the wind, and the thumping of her own heart in her chest. Buffy spun round, only actually registering that she had heard the scrape of a footstep a moment later. She approached the side street where she'd heard the sound, and saw that it was empty, but her spidey sense was screaming. She turned again, to find a vampire only a metre behind her, trying unsuccessfully to sneak up.

"You're gonna _have_ to be quicker than _that._" Buffy quipped as he lunged, and she merely sidestepped, helped him along his way with a foot, and staked him quick. Seconds later, his friends arrived. "Oh great, a party." Buffy said with distain.

Faith had been standing watch here for hours, never straying from Gryffindor room hall, never letting her senses be distracted. She would know in an instant if anyone took a portkey into the commonroom, probably even the dorms she was on such high mental alert. None of this felt right- They were missing something! Harry was fine, asleep in his bed with more spells surrounding his room than almost any other in the castle… She shook her head- this was whack. Faith frowned- a breeze had suddenly picked up from nowhere. She looked around for a blown open window, but the breeze was picking up into a wind, all around her, and as she watched in dreading awe, the swirling air took form and became swirling cloaks… In seconds she was surrounded by no less than fifteen deatheaters, black eyes set on her through the slits in their masks.

"I was wondering when you boys would show up." She said with a smirk, dropping into a fighting stance, "By the way- there's no way you're getting to him."

"Who said it was him we were after?" Said one of them as he raised a silver hand in which he held a small glass vial…

Buffy kicked and spun, using all the moves she'd been teaching these last months and many more, combining spells and manoeuvres, her magic allowing her to work more quickly and efficiently than ever before. Within minutes she'd taken out twenty vamps, but as often seemed to happen with these territorial gangs, they just kept coming. She skewered two at once, one on her wand, one on her stake, and moved on, a fire spell disintegrating a huge bulking guy while a shot to the head with a nearby bit of wood decapitated another in a style all horror movies would envy… and all the while, even though she was kinda enjoying the first big fight she'd had in months, she had a growing feeling of dread. Finally the crowds of vampires thinned, and she found herself faced with a tall, handsome man with blood red hair and deep amber eyes. He didn't have his game face on, but she knew without a doubt that he was the lead vampire- he radiated power.

"You're good, little slayer." He said as they circled eachother, back in the main street.

"I know." She deadpanned.

"I've actually heard a lot about you… nearly five years now, yes? That's almost a record."

"Lucky me."

"Ah, luck. This is what you put your success down to? How disappointing- I was anticipating a good fight."

Buffy shrugged,

"Well yeah, that, and my famous wit." And with that she struck, going for a snap kick to his midriff. But he blocked, attempting to throw her off balance, but she spun with it, coming up immediately to catch him round the head with a furious knife hand. He stumbled, and morphed into his true form, snarling as he did. They fought so fast that it seemed more like a choreographed dance, each responding immediately to the others attacks, while waiting for an opening- all either of them needed was one mistake, one tiny flaw in the other's armour, and they could end it. A moment later, he thought he had found it. After taking a punch, Buffy took a moment too long to recover, and he knocked her back. She hit the ground with a wince, and then he was on top of her. He was sitting on her midriff, legs trapped by his, and arms held high above her head by his strong hands. His face was only an inch or two from hers, and Buffy swallowed in disgust as he returned to his human visage.

"See, little slayer," He whispered, almost like a lover, "Sometimes luck just isn't enough." He kissed her jawline, smiling as he felt a shudder ripple through her. "But you've… associated… with vampires before, have you not? Angelus? I bet he had his fun with you, no?" Buffy looked stonily up into his eagle-like eyes,

"You don't know the first thing about me and _Angel._" She hissed through gritted teeth. He chuckled, kissing the other side, enjoying her fury, loving to torture her just that bit longer. His lips trailed from her jaw down to her neck, where he could feel the blood flowing warm with adrenaline and sweet with fear, just below the surface.

"I'm going to give you a choice, little slayer." He said, kissing her smooth skin intermittently. "I could kill you… but to be honest, I rather like you… so, if you want, I will remove you from this mortal coil, and make you like me. What do you say? Do you have the guts to give in to the darkness?" He drew back to watch her face. He saw confusion there, and a flicker of her gaze from his eyes to his lips. He smirked, how he loved the power he had over mortal women. She nodded slowly, and he lowered his lips to her own. As she reciprocated, he moved one hand to cradle her cheek, and suddenly gasped. He pulled back with startled eyes to see a nasty smile on her face. Her free arm was around him, her hand not touching his back, but gripping the stake imbedded in it.

"Sorry sweety, I'm taken." She hissed, before yanking the stake out and watching in satisfaction as he exploded in a cloud of dust. Buffy grimaced, and spat on the ground beside her before she stood up. She tucked the stake back into her waist band, and froze. There was one more figure, standing in the shadows near by… but it wasn't a vamp. She crossed to him quickly, before he could even realise she knew he was there. She slammed him against the wall, "What the hell are you doing here Thompson?" She snapped.

"Watching you!" He said immediately, clearly shocked.

"What?" She asked with dawning fury.

"We needed to see if you were really any good, so when the team had trouble with this town, we called you in. Tell me- do you always seduce vampires before killing them?" She let go violently, sickened by him.

"You risked my life and the security of Hogwarts to _test_ me?" She cried.

"Don't flatter yourself." He scoffed, "Hogwarts is perfectly safe without you." "You have no bloody idea, do you?" She yelled, "You think this is all a game! You honestly don't believe that Voldemort's alliance with the demon world means anything, do you? Even though your bloody team couldn't take out one stupid gang! You're pathetic!"

"Don you dare speak to me like that, _girl!_" He raged back, "You have no idea where my views stem from or why I have little faith in _slayers!_ We aurors will win this war, not you, not Dumbledore and certainly not some spotty little teenage boy!"

"Oh really? So when you're surrounded by a bunch of sired deatheaters, each sporting wands, fangs, and strength you cant imagine, you'll take them all down yourself, huh? How the hell do you intend to defend your family when it gets to that stage? HUH?"

"I have no family!" He roared. "They were all killed by vampires and deatheaters the last time round, ok? No bloody slayer helped us then, did she?"

For a moment, Buffy couldn't reply, but she swallowed, and carefully controlling her voice, she said coldly,

"I'm very sorry about that, but you're not the only one whose lost people, and your moronic crusade is only gonna get more people killed." She turned away.

"And who is Angelus?" he snapped, lost for any other comment.

"The love of my life who I killed to stop the world being sucked into hell." She replied without pause or turn.

"A test." Buffy snapped the moment she returned by portkey to Dumbledore's office, "You sent me out of here for a fucking test?"

"Calm down Buffy…"

"No, I bloody well wont!" She cried, "Why the hell didn't you tell me?"

"I couldn't, Buffy!" He exclaimed, "It was the only way he would trust you, and my telling you would have voided it."

"You're an idiot." She snapped, "You make rash decisions on other peoples' behalf. You keep important information from the people who need to know most. You _are_ arrogant, and never mind Thompson's, you are seriously trying _my_ trust." She turned and stormed out. She quick-walked all the way to the Gryffindor tower, meeting Lupin on the way, who listened attentively to her ranting.

"Where's Faith?" Buffy asked, pausing for the first time outside the portrait hole.

"I…" Lupin frowned, "She must have gone inside…" He said, "She was here half an hour ago…"

Buffy shook her head, and gave the password to her room,

"She shouldn't have left her post." She snapped. She walked through her deserted room, and the commonroom, her frown deepening, and continued on to Harry's dorm. She opened the door quietly, and looked across to Harry's bed, where he slept soundly, and she allowed herself a small smile. She closed the door once more, and descended to the common room where Lupin was waiting. "Where the hell is she?" Buffy asked, well aware that the feeling she had predicted was rapidly growing.

"I'll check Slytherin." Lupin offered, "Maybe she went back there?"

But Buffy shook her head, "She shouldn't have left her post- she _wouldn't_ have left her post!" She paused for a moment, before hurrying out through the commonroom door, and looking back at the painting. The fat lady was gone.

"Fairfax!" Buffy called to her own portrait door, "Where's the fat lady?"

"I don't know." He replied, "When I returned from a walk, she was gone. I haven't seen her all night."

"Ooh, I have!" Said an unfriendly looking goblin who walked into the frame, "She came streaking through my painting- smudged my bloomin account books with her tears! She looked bloody distraught she did." He looked thrilled.

"Where did she go?" Buffy demanded.

"I dunno… off towards the north tower I suppose."

"Get Dumbledore, Sirius and Snape." Buffy told Lupin, who merely nodded, and they both ran off in opposite directions. Buffy finally found her cowering behind a mulberry bush in a large landscape in the north tower, "Madame?" She said, trying to be polite and considerate despite her now all consuming terror, "Madame, what happened?"

"Awful, awful, so dishonerable, disgusting… oh the beasts…" the fat lady sobbed.

"Please," Buffy insisted, "Tell me- what happened to Faith?"

"So we finally meet again." Hissed a voice as Faith managed to open her eyes. She wriggled, but her hands were bound in shackles above her head, her feet, which barely reached the ground, held similarly. Her entire body ached, but she held his red gaze steady as Lord Voldemort's sickly cackle resounded through the small cold room.

-

Sorry for the slight Dumbledore bashing. He annoyed me in the last book, and Buffy has reason to be annoyed with him, so meh.

Pleeeeaaaasssse review, especially if you have any ideas for the sequel!


	70. Trapped

Ok guys, totally wicked long chapter all for u lot cos its my 18th birthday!

Just spent all day at my first choice uni having informal interview an stuff, and that's looking hopeful, so despite this impending cough (yuck!) Im in a very good mood!

Sorry, cant be bothered with review replied right now, will cover them next chapter. Thanks so much all you guys who have stuck with me! Love you!

Chapter 70- Trapped

"I was rather insulted." The dark lord said, "When you turned on me- I offered you everything, and instead you went to those who had betrayed you in the past."

"Wrong. I betrayed them in the past." She replied, glancing around the room, testing her restraints, trying to find some possible means of escape. He just smiled,

"Quite. And, by the by, there is no point in you wasting energy on escape plans- that toxin will keep you well below your normal strength for many hours." She grimaced,

"That gas…"

"Yes… wonderfully effective, wasn't it? It absorbs through the skin, you see, so holding your breath made no difference."

"Your guys are so pathetic that they need to gas a girl before they can beat her up?"

"Ah, so you were still conscious."

"Just about." Faith replied, all too aware of the many bruises decorating her beaten body.

"So the question is… what now?" Voldemort said. "Of course I do not trust you to switch again so simply. I will ask you to tell me all you know, however, and" He grinned nastily, "I _will_ get my answers. But… I wonder… yes… I feel that it would be… amusing…"

"What would be?" She snapped.

"A confession." Voldemort said gleefully, "I lied before, my dear."

"About?" She asked, though she already had a pretty good idea.

"Your Father of course. He is very much alive."

Faith squeezed her eyes shut. She had known it was coming, but hearing hurt so much more.

"Yes." Voldemort said, and Faith thought bizarrely of the emperor from Star Wars. She actually laughed out loud,

"I'm bloody Luke Skywalker." She exclaimed. Voldemort looked confused, only causing more laughter.

"Shut up, you stupid girl." He snapped, but she just kept laughing, a scary laugh that unsettled even him. "You will learn some respect." He snarled, and pulled out his wand, "Crucio!" Faith's laughter stopped abruptly as she gritted her teeth against the pain, but she refused to scream. She would not give him that satisfaction.

"I think perhaps it is time for a family reunion." He said, clicking his fingers. The door opened, and Faith painfully raised her head to meet the eyes of the man standing in the doorway.

"So _Stupid!"_Buffy raged, "How did I not think of it? He went for her before, why not do it again? Stupid, _stupid!"_

"Buffy, please, calm down." George tried to sooth her.

"No, George, I wont! I cant!"

Dumbledore said nothing. He was sitting at his desk with his head in his hands. Lupin, Sirius, McGonogall, Snape and Fred found they could only watch and listen as Buffy ranted and George tried to calm her. But suddenly she turned on Dumbledore,

"You!" She snapped, "_You_. You go on about how safe this place is- you sent me off on that stupid mission… there were over a dozen deatheaters right outside the Gryffindor common room and you didn't even know! How can you just miss that, huh?"

"I made a mistake." The headmaster said wearily.

"Damn right you did!" Buffy cried. "And right now Faith might be dead because of it!"

"If they were gonna kill her they would have just done it here, Buffy…" George reasoned.

"Right, well that's ok then, they're probably just torturing her to insanity- that makes it so much better." Buffy slumped into a chair, furious with Dumbledore, furious with bloody Thompson, but more than anyone, furious with herself. She had let this happen. She had left the school. She had let them take Faith. "We have to move, now. We have to find them, and get her out of there." Buffy said more quietly.

"It's not that simple, Buffy." Lupin sighed.

"Yes it is." She snapped. "It can be." She was up again, "Dumbledore- you got some floo powder?"

"Of course, but… oh." He picked up a pot from his desk, but before hadning it to her, he asked, "Do you really want to involve them in this? After all they are only…"

"They may not be wizards, or your type of witches, but they've fought demons hand to hand never the less, and they've not only survived but come out on top. They've guarded the hell mouth without a slayer for nearly a year. They can deal."

He handed over the pot, and she took a handful of the powder, throwing it into the fire.

"Revello Drive, Sunnydale." She said clearly as she stepped into the flames.

It was mere minutes before the office held six more people. None looked as sleepy as the Hogwarts lot seeing as it was around midday in California despite being the middle of the night in England. But all of them looked apprehensive- they all knew what Buffy was like in this mood, and that however effective they usually ended up being, these moods sprung the craziest of plans.

"So you can do the locator?" Buffy asked Willow.

"I can try." She replied.

"I'll help." Tara added.

"As will I." Snape offered. "In fact, you may use my office."

Buffy nodded her thanks, and looked around at the others,

"Much as I'd like to go in alone again, I know much more about deatheaters than I did last time and I know that's not a good idea. I'm gonna need your help."

"I have contacted some other order members." Dumbledore informed her, "You will have auror back up."

She nodded again, and glanced at the clock on the wall,

"Harry and that lot will be up soon… Amity will notice that Faith is gone…"

"We'll get started on the spell." Willow suggested, and she Snape and Tara left. Buffy nodded, but knew she would still have to say something to the others.

"I will send them up from breakfast." McGonogall suggested. Buffy nodded slowly,

"But to my room, not to here."

"Very well. Malfoy and Flynn too?"

"I guess so."

"It wont be easy to keep them out of this." Sirius voiced what they were all thinking.

"No." Buffy agreed, so someone will have to stay back with them." She found her eyes trailing to Xander, who immediately shook his head,

"No, Buffy, you know I'm not staying out of this…"

"You have to Xander, you have no way to defend yourself against them…"

"Bullshit, Buff! I can punch as well as the next man- I've fought plenty of demons. I'm not staying behind!" Buffy could see the pleading in his eyes. She knew exactly why he wanted to come, and it was one of the reasons she doubted his capability.

"I'm sorry, Xander." She said firmly. "You're out of this one." He looked broken, utterly betrayed. He knew that she knew of his feeling for Faith. He knew that she knew sitting waiting for news of her death would kill him,and yet that was what she was making him do. "I need you to look after my brother, Xand. Please." He nodded with cold eyes. "Right. The rest of us will have to storm the place once Will finds it. There might be demons, there will definitely be deatheaters, and if the last place was anything to go by, it'll probably be a total maze…"

"Is it wise, I wonder, to rush into this, to send so maybe people to possible death, just for one?"

Buffy turned on the headmaster once more, barely believing her ears.

"What would you do if it were McGonogall, or Snape, or god, one the children?"

"I would carefully plan an attack, not run in wands ablaze."

"I'm planning." Buffy growled. "But this fight had to come sooner or later. I say we go in full force and take the bastard out."

"And how the hell do you intend to do that without the one person capable of killing him?" Dumbledore bellowed back. Buffy was shaking with anger.

"He will not become a murderer." She spat. "Prophecies are bullshit."

"Not all prophecies." Dumbledore replied, "Some _must_ be fulfilled."

"Three years ago a prophecy said I would die that very night. I did, but I'm standing here right now." Buffy said through gritted teeth. "Prophecies can be played."

Of course no one else had the slightest of ideas what they were talking about, but none dared to interrupt.

"If anyone else faces him, they will die." Dumbledore said, his voice now deadly calm.

"It's breakfast time. I shall fetch the children." McGonogall cut in, thankful for the excuse to leave.

"I better get back to my room then." Buffy said, following her out. Giles was right on her heels, keeping pace with her as she then marched down the corridor.

"Buffy, what is going on?" he asked.

"You know what's going on." She replied simply.

"No, I get the distinct impression I really don't." He snapped, "There is something you have not told us. What did Dumbledore mean?"

"It's complicated ok?"

"No." He exclaimed, catching her arm and stopping her in her tracks. "It's not ok, Buffy. There is clearly something very major that you haven't told us, that affects this battle. I don't know what has been happening here these last months, but if we are to be involved then we must know!"

Buffy dropped her gaze, suddenly feeling incredibly tired.

"You're right." She sighed, "Of course you're right… can we take this inside though?" He nodded stiffly and they walked silently to Buffy's room, where she told him the prophecy.

"Dear lord." He murmured.

"I can't let him…" Buffy croaked, "There has to be some way…"

"There will be." Giles soothed, putting a fatherly arm around Buffy, "There always is."

"I missed you." Buffy breathed, leaning against him, "I've missed you all so much." Giles wrapped his arms around her,

"I've missed you too, Buffy." He sighed.

Ten minutes later, Harry, Luna, Hermione, Ron, Neville, Amity and Draco arrived at Buffy's door, and she admitted them without the slightest sign of the tiredness she felt. They squashed onto sofas, and waited intently for Buffy to explain what was going on. She paced before them a few times, Giles, Spike, Xander and the Twins now standing round the room too.

"Something happened last night." Buffy finally began. "While I was out of the castle for a couple of hours, some deatheaters got in." Several of them gasped, but no one spoke. "They took Faith." She managed to say.

"What?" Amity gasped.

"The fat lady saw it happen- they used a poison to knock her out." She refrained from mentioning the brutal beating that had apparently followed.

"Then we have to go after her, right?" Harry said immediately.

"Yes." Buffy said firmly, "_We_ do."

"Right, I'll get my…"

"No, Harry." Buffy cut him off, "_We're_ going. Not you."

"But I…"

She shook her head,

"It's too dangerous for any of you."

"Buffy, you know…"

"I know, Harry, but still. I mean it. You're staying here, and Xander is gonna stay to watch you."

"We're not kids, Buffy! We've faced deatheaters plenty of times, and when it comes to V…"

"Harry!" Buffy snapped, "I said no. You're not coming, and that's that. I cant fight for my life and worry about you at the same time. So leave it out, you're staying!"

Harry stared daggers at her, utterly furious that she would cut him out even knowing about the prophecy. He sat stiffly in his seat, teeth gritted, and refused eye contact with anyone. Buffy shut her eyes briefly, but nodded, telling herself it was for the best.

"So that's settled. You guys stay in here, with Xander… the rest of you, go back to Dumbledore, see what we have in terms of weapons." She went to her trunk by her bed, removing the top layer, full of books, clothes and mundane things, to reveal a myriad of weapons consealed beneath.

"Bloody hell." Ron exclaimed. Buffy shot him a look but said nothing, picking out a couple of her favourites, and covering it up again, fitting a padlock on too.

"Its charmed." She said to no one in particular. "Alohomora wont work." And then she swept out.

An hour later, Willow had a location. It was a big old muggle house on the outskirts of a town in Yorkshire. Buffy looked round at her odd group, witches, wizards, wiccas, a muggle, a werewolf, a vampire, and herself. She took a deep breath, and explained her plan. They would spread out, and hit all sides of the house at once. They took hold of the portkey Dumbledore made, and soon they were standing about 100 metres from the house. Buffy made silent gestures, and they split, Willow squeezing Buffy's hand briefly before going. Buffy, alone by choice, headed for the front of the house. Worried as before that she wasn't fired upon on approach, Buffy never the less kept going, her eyes wide for any movement. When she reached the door, she kicked it in, not in the mood for messing around, and immediately turned away to the side to avoid the multicoloured jets of light that shot through the door. Buffy grinned grimly. I'm coming, Faith. She thought.

"I'm going to the loo." Harry had said abruptly, standing.

"Um, but… 'Mione's in there." Ron pointed out. Harry shrugged,

"So I'll go to the dorms."

Xander considered arguing, but if the kid needed the toilet, he needed the toilet. He nodded, and Harry left through the common room door. When Hermione returned a short while later, she frowned,

"Where's Harry?"

"Loo." Ron replied.

"Where?"

"Dorms."

Hermione gaped at them.

"You stupid arses." She snapped, bolting for the door. They all looked between them, eyes wide, and leapt up to follow. Hermione practically flew up the boys stairs, bursting into the boys toilets, which was, of course deserted.

"Hermione! You cant go in th…ouch!" She rammed into Ron on her hurried exit, running next to the actually dorm. Ron looked around the toilet and grimaces, "Oh."

"Yes, oh!" Hermione snapped, "You wanna guess what else is gone?"

"Probably not." Ron said pathetically.

"His cloak." She said anyway. And I bet he used Sirius' penknife to get his dagger from Buffy's chest. Bloody hell you lot, how stupid can you be?"

"Hold on a bloody minute." Draco finally cut in. "How are we supposed to guess that just cos Potter wants the loo he's clearly running off to get himself killed?"

"Yeah, don't blame us, Hermione!" Neville said, well before he'd considered who he was agreeing with.

"In fact, how did you know right off?" Amity asked.

But through all this, Luna was standing, wide eyed, against the wall, her breathing getting strange and irratic. Of course, she was the only one who understood _why_ Harry had gone.

"SHUT UP!" She suddenly yelled, silencing them all. "Stop arguing! We have to catch up to him, _now!"_

The first few were fiddly, Buffy had to dodge across the entrance, firing wand blast almost blindly, and listening for yelps or thumps. Soon there were no more shots when she passed the entrance, so she ventured farther in. Inside the house, it seemed even larger than outside- Buffy had come into a huge entrance hall off which were four doors, and two staircases, one up and one down.

"Eeny meeny, miney…" Buffy thrust a fist back over her shoulder, hitting the deatheater creeping up on her right in the nose, "Mo. Down it is." She peered down over the banister, but could see no one in the hall below, so she proceeded carefully, stepping as lightly as possible, and staring around for any sign of deatheaters. About halfway down the steps she froze, seeing a figure in the shadows at the end of the hall. Buffy smiled- he was guarding a door, and apparently hadn't seen her. She returned to the top of the stairs, stepping hard on the steps, making a nice lot of noise. Then she waited, wand drawn, for the idiot to do exactly what she wanted. He crept to the stairs, peering up, and Buffy grinned at him, before knocking him out cold with a jet of red light. Down the stairs again, she dragged the unconscious deatheater to the space under the steps to hide him, and moved to the door he'd been guarding, all the time awfully aware that this should have been much harder. She pressed an ear to the door, and heard faint voices on the other side.

"I was so proud to hear what you had become." Said a man's voice, laced with irritation.

"Must be real pissed now then huh?" Faith's snapped back, though Buffy could hear the strain in it.

"Quite." He hissed. "I was very disappointed when the dark lord informed me of your betrayal. You have no comprehension of the damage you are doing, the _filth_ you are dragging our family name through! Our _blood_ through!"

"You're not my family." Faith spat angrily.

"Crucio!" The man cried, and Buffy heard Faith's sharp intake of breath. "You will learn to respect those you should, you little whore. You will not disgrace my name any longer!" Buffy heard a thump, and the smallest of outcries, and she couldn't take it any longer. She kicked open the door, bursting in with wand and stake at the ready, to find three silent deatheaters too, and to feel the point of a wand in her back. The man standing before Faith, who was hung from one wall by chains about her wrists, turned a truly evil smile towards Buffy, "Oh look, the master was right. Your little girlfriend has come for you. The boy wont be far behind." Buffy swallowed, reminding herself that Harry was safe at the castle. She had defied Voldemort's plan, Harry _wouldn't_ follow. "Take her weapons." The man ordered one of the deatheaters. Buffy's wand and stake were forced from her hands as she looked over Faith, whose head was now down, a tiny trickle of blood dripping from a wound Buffy couldn't see.

"Faith?" Buffy said, ignoring the deatheaters as they shoved her further into the room. Faith rolled her head, and looked up,

"Still with ya B." She murmured. Buffy looked into the man's eyes, and felt an awful tightening within her because she could see evidence of what she suspected from what she'd heard.

"Let's have your pretty little hands where we can see them." The man said, and with a stare of ice, Buffy did as requested. "Now come here." He said, and the wand at her back prodded her forward until he could grip her chin with an aristocratic hand. "Yes, I do see it. Who would ever have thought that the Potters could spawn _two_ children, and no one know?" He laughed coldly. Buffy wasn't listening. She was reaching with her senses, getting the lay of the room behind her. There were now five deatheaters other than the apparent leader of this group. Two were standing on either side of Faith, and the other three were behind Buffy. She mentally cursed. There were just too many without a distraction…

"SIR!" Cried a voice as feet pounded the stairs, "Sir, the boy is here! The master wa…" The messenger stopped dead as all his colleagues turned to look at him, and Buffy grinned. First she twisted, breaking the leaders wrist and snapping the wand held to her back. A foot caught one of the guys near Faith in the side of the face, knocking him down cold, while she pulled a dagger out of her waist band, and grabbed the leader, holding the knife to his throat.

"Buffy no!" Faith cried, shocking both of them, but it did little to change the situation. The remaining deatheaters gaped, terrified to move.

"Back up." Buffy ordered, "Now! In here. Close the door. Set Faith free." Only now did they hesitate.

"We cant!" One stuttered.

"The master would kill us!"

"Well if you don't, I'll kill him." Buffy said with a simpering smile.

"You wouldn't." One scoffed, so Buffy pushed harder, allowing a tiny nick to drip a little blood.

"Do it!" The leader yelled, the tough guy act flying far out of the window. "Bloody hell let the bitch go!"

A look passed between the grunts, but eventually one pulled out his wand.

"No funny business." Buffy snapped. He nodded slowly, and murmured something, letting the chains disintegrate, and Faith flopped to the ground. "Good." Buffy commented. "Now…" She flung the leader at the group, knocking them all flying. The first one up launched himself at her, and she yelled, "Stupefy!" He crumbled, falling prone to the floor. The next guy got a kick in the face, and the next, a well placed knee followed by a thump on the back of the head. Now the leader was up, and furious, wand drawn, but Buffy didn't waste a moment. She kicked hard, probably breaking his other wrist, and sending his wand into a high arch. She caught it, and snapped it, then punched him hard in the face. Two left. They looked, to be honest, petrified, even through their masks. "Come on fellas." Buffy cooed, "I'm just one little girl." One, stupidly, suddenly agreed, and leapt at her, only to get a back hand round the face. The last had pulled his wand, and was pointing it right at Buffy.

"D-don't m-move." He managed. Buffy cocked her head to one side in disbelief. "AVADA KEDAVRA!" He cried. Buffy rolled forwards, dodging the spell and exploding upwards to knock him under the chin.

"Way too easy." She commented, and moved to Faith. "Faith, are you ok?" The second slayer rolled her shoulders back, and tossed her head to get her hair out of her face.

"Five by five, B." She replied. Buffy winced as she finally saw the bleeding wound- a cut down one side of her face, surrounded by a nasty bruise.

"That from him, or the guys who bought you in?"

"Lost track." Faith replied simply.

"Faith, is he…?"

"Claims to be." She replied quietly. "Voldemort said he was." Buffy nodded slowly,

"Don't worry about it now, we gotta go. Can you walk?"

"I'm fine, B." Faith insisted, pushing herself to her feet, "I was just putting on the show, y'know? Preparing my escape."

Buffy smirked,

"We still gotta go."

"When they said 'the boy'… you bought Harry along?"

"No. God no." Buffy snapped, "I left him back at the castle, with Xander…"

"Xander?"

"He must have followed somehow…" Buffy said, either totally missing, or just ignoring Faith's exclamation.

"He's going after Voldie." Faith sighed. Buffy nodded,

"Which is why we gotta go." She searched the leader, and retrieved both hers and Faith's wands, also passing Faith one of the knifes she'd bought with her. Then they took the wizards wands, left the room, locked it, and threw the wands to one side.

"Any clue where he is?" Faith whispered.

"Up there somewhere, that's where the messenger came from." Buffy replied, more than a little worried that she couldn't hear sounds of battle from anywhere else. They ascended the stairs, finding that two of the doors leading off were lying in splinters, which Buffy marked off as a good thing. She tried the third, which was locked, and the fourth which just opened into a broom cupboard. "Up." Buffy mouthed, and they started up the stairs, looking out for more deatheaters. As they reached the top of the flight of stairs, they finally heard the sound of a fight, and hurried towards it. Tonks and Sirius were backed up against a wall, six deatheaters advancing on them. Buffy and Faith, coming from behind the deatheaters, hit two over the head immediately, getting the others attention. Between the four of them, they made short work of it.

"You ok?" Sirius asked Faith, who merely nodded.

"Seen anyone else?" Buffy asked,

"Kingsley charged past with five in tow a minute or two ago." Tonks replied, "But no one else."

"Ok, you guys go that way, we'll take this." Buffy suggested, to nods all round. So she and Faith continued on through another door in the room, while Tonks and Sirius returned to the hall way. The slayers crept through the next room, Buffy constantly noting that Faith was far more sluggish than usual, and would need medical attention as soon as they returned to Hogwarts. Suddenly they heard a scream back the way they'd come, and set off at a run. The scene they found in the stairwell made each of their blood run cold. Three aurors, Giles, Willow and Tara, over Twenty deatheaters, plus Xander and the kids, locked in furious battle. Ginny was held by the throat over the edge of the banister, while she repeatedly kicked the guy holding her with powerful accuracy. Luna had just sunk her teeth into a deatheaters arm as he tried to curse Amity. The aurors were stunning left right and centre, but more deatheaters seemed to keep appearing. The guy holding Ginny finally had had enough, and let go. She screamed, but it was cut short when a strong hand caught her flailing one, and she gaped up at Draco Malfoy as he tugged her over the banister. Ron then Punched the one who'd dropped her so hard in the face that they all heard the sickening crack.

But Harry was nowhere to be seen. Buffy forced her way through the crowd, knocking down bad guys where it was necessary, but aiming for the one un-opened door. She kicked it in to find another corridor, and pelted down it, knowing several people were following, but not knowing or caring who they were. Moments later, they all skidded to a stop on a balcony looking down onto a grand room, in the middle of which stood Voldemort, and a couple of metres away, Harry, both of their wands drawn, and both oblivious to their audience. They each fired curses and spells, dodging around furniture, and the watchers found themselves frozen by fear. Harry rolled behind a chair, breathing deeply, and listened for the dark wizards footsteps as he cackled,

"Why fight, boy? We both know how this will end."

"Yeah, with a jet of green light and one less person in the room." Harry snapped, leaping up and sending a stunner towards Voldemort, who dodged just in time. He laughed,

"You really think you can pull it off, boy? The killing curse?"

"If I have to." Harry snarled. He dodged another jet of green, coming up on the other side of a table, unaware that the dark lord was ready for him. As Voldemort hissed,

"Pare o coração!" A jet of Blue light shot at the boy who lived, and Buffy screamed,

"HARRY!"

For a moment, Harry seemed luminous, glowing blue as his eyes went wide, and one hand went to his chest. He gaped at Voldemort, and his knees gave way.

:D

Hope you like!

Please please review!


	71. The End?

So much for that promise of review answers- fanfiction wont let me access them at the mo, so once again, I'll just promise to sort it all next chapter, which incidentally is also the last chapter!

Right, this chapter isn't all that long, but I felt it was necessary for it to be separate… it's a little bit random and all over the place… but whatever, you tell me what you think! ;)

Oh, and Happy Birthday Matt! I'm so sorry that I didn't get to update Child of the Key for you- I simply don't have enough to post, and I'm in a major inspirational rutt right now

Chapter 71- The end?

It was as if someone had hit the pause button. Everyone was frozen to the spot, and there wasn't a sound. Then suddenly it was all broken by hurried footsteps on wooden stairs as Buffy fled down from the balcony into the room proper. She ignored Voldemort, who seemed as shocked as anyone, and ran to Harry's side, kneeling beside him and shaking him,

"Harry?" She sobbed, "Harry, no, come on, Harry!"

"I win." Voldemort said softly. "He is dead. I have defeated him, and now nobody can ever defeat me!" Eyes insanely wide, he looked at the group of people filtering down into the room, Faith at the lead. She looked from Buffy, still on the ground, cradling Harry and crying in disbelief as others joined her, to Voldemort, an odd frown on her face.

"No." Faith suddenly said.

"You do not understand, stupid girl." Voldemort scoffed, "Either he kills me or I kill him, and that's that."

"Yeah." Faith said, walking straight up to the arrogant wizard, and drawing her knife.

"I can never be killed." He said, holding out his arms with no fear. Faith drew back her arm, and thrust the knife deep into the dark lord's gut. He cried out, hands grappling with hers as she twisted the knife for maximum damage. Blood poured from the wound, and ran from his mouth. "It's… not…. Possible…" He gasped.

"Either." Faith said acidly. "As in one or the other. You killed him, so now I can kill you." She wrenched the knife out, pushing him to the ground, from where he stared up at her with more fear than she'd ever seen in a dying persons eyes. _A man who has nothing, has only his life to lose._ Faith thought strangely- a line her first watcher once told her.

"NO!" The yell cut into Faith's reverie, and she turned to see that little else had changed. Buffy was sobbing hysterically.

"I don't understand." Tara said, "He didn't use avada kedavra!"

"No." Lupin said hollowly, "He stopped his heart."

Suddenly two heads, hung in sorrow, snapped up and met each others eyes.

"This is a muggle house." Hermione exclaimed.

"With electricity." Willow added, seeing the plug sockets in the wall.

"You don't think…?" Hermione scoffed, though it sounded hopeful.

"They do it on ER." Willow shrugged. No one else had a clue what they were talking about, but didn't get in the way as the pair grabbed a lamp from a table, and pulled the end on the wire attached to the base out, leaving the other end plugged into the mains. Hermione snatched a sword off Spike, and wrapped the loose wires around the metal shaft. Willow prised Buffy away from Harry with soothing words, and Giles held the slayer back as Hermione forced Spike to give up his leather jacket in order to hold the sword without touching the metal. She nodded to willow, who turned on the power. Hermione shut her eyes briefly, praying to any god she could think of.

"This is insane." She murmured, "But come on Harry, _please!_" Willow opened Harry's shirt to show bare skin, and Hermione touched the sword to his chest. The young Gryffindor's body jolted, and Luna screamed.

"Again." Willow ordered, shaking her head. Hermione acquiesced, and Harry's body arched off the ground again, though this time, Spike exclaimed,

"Bloody hell." And as everyone else waited, they heard a tiny breath, drawn by the involuntary muscles coaxed back to life by the once again flowing blood. Harry's eyes stayed firmly shut, but blood flowed in his veins, and air passed his lips. Willow switched off the plug, and everyone found themselves trying to comprehend what had just happened. Hermione, however, finally dropped to her knees and let the tears flow, Ron wrapping his arms around her. A couple of the group actually laughed they were so shocked. Couples hugged and kissed, Lupin muttered an incantation to discharge Harry's body, and Luna took Harry's hand.

But amidst the joy, only one person noticed something strange. Faith was frowning, holding onto the back of a chair for support. Xander waved a hand in front of her face, but she said nothing.

"Faith?" He asked. "Faith… are you alright?"

"Five by five." She murmured, but then her eyes met his, and she gasped, "Oh shit." And collapsed.

"Faith!" Xander cried, getting the others' attention. He supported her head on his lap, brushing hair out of her face to be sure her eyes were still open, but they looked confused. Xander looked her over, gasping at the large amount of blood on her hands. "Oh god, she's bleeding." He cried.

"No." Buffy said, shaking her head, "That's not hers."

"It's his." Sirius agreed, pointing over to Voldemort's now dead body.

"Get out." Faith murmured, "Get out, no, get out…"

"Faith?" Xander gasped, "What..?"

"I feel him… his anger… his… no…"

"Oh merlin." Lupin gasped.

"What is it?" Amity snapped, "What's happening?"

"Voldemort spent many years guarding against his death… but I believe he must have planned for this event too." Lupin said.

"I think… When she killed him, all his anger, all his hatred, flowed through his blood and into her. That's what's killing her." Said a low, sorrowfully voice from the top of the stairs.

"Dumbledore… help her!" Buffy pleaded.

"I cannot." He replied truthfully. "There is not spell to counteract that."

"I don't believe you!" Xander cried, looking down into Faith's dry eyes, "Come on, you can fight it."

"No…" She whispered. "I can't…"

"You can!" He snapped angrily, "Yes you can!"

"It's too late, Xander… I did…" She gasped for breath, "I did what I had to…. And now I'm done."

"No. No!"

"World will be a better place anyway…" She sighed.

"NO! Don't you dare say that! You're a good person, Faith, you are! And you _cant_ die!" Xander exclaimed, holding her shoulders firmly.

"Too late…" She murmured.

"No, no, you don't understand!" Xander gasped, the rest of the people around him forgotten completely. "You cant die, not now, you cant! Not when I just realised!"

Faith managed to form a frown, but no words escaped her lips.

"You cant." Xander said, his voice calm now, but tears streaming down his cheeks. "Not when I just realised that I love you." He said in almost a whisper. For a moment, Faith's eyes were still, and Xander's went wild with fear, but then she blinked, a tear trickling from the corner of her eye.

"Xander…" She managed, tears flowing freely now. "I'm sorry…"

"No, no…"

She gasped for breath, dragging in air, knowing that if she were to die, there was one thing she must first do.

"I… I love you." She breathed, a smile reaching her lips before her eyes rolled back, and she went limp.

"NO!" Xander wailed, holding her close to him, "No, god please…" He sobbed, everyone else shocked but unable to move, everything that had happened building up inside them- it felt like just too much. Dumbledore was the first to find his composure. He stepped forwards, prying Xander away from Faith.

"Xander, let go. Let her go." He said, taking her from him to lay her down… only he stopped, one hand on her back as he moved her, and he gaped up at Sirius, who was standing closest to him, "Merlin." Dumbledore murmured.

"What?" Buffy snapped.

"I can feel her heart." Dumbledore replied. "She's not dead." He lay her down on the ground, feeling for a pulse and nodding, "It's not strong, but its there." He said in disbelief. "I don't understand."

"I think maybe I do." Buffy said quietly.

The remaining deatheaters had been rounded up and arrested, the wounded taken to St. Mungos, and the unscathed either accompanied the wounded, or returned to Hogwarts, or their own homes. Most of the students were forced to go back to the school, though Hermione and Ron straight out refused, and Luna simply ignored everyone who tried to make her leave Harry's side. As no one had the heart to physically carry her away, she too was allowed to stay. Xander hadn't moved from Faith's bed side except when the healers had absolutely insisted, and now held her hand, watching her all the time for any sign of awakening. Buffy similarly stood vigil over Harry. She knew that his current state was unstable. The spell had been powerful, and though his heart beat stronger every day, the healers were unable to predict whether he would ever really be ok. The other scoobies had stayed too, and though they were shocked at the revelation of Xander's feelings for Faith, they were willing to stand by him, even if it just meant fetching coffee for a few days.

"How did you guys even get there?" Buffy asked Hermione the evening after the battle.

"When we realised Harry had gone, we went to Snape's office- I'd heard you mention it and figured that's where Willow did the spell. The map was still there, so we saw the location, and just…"

"Wait, how did Harry get out?"

"I think he hitched a ride on your portkey. He was wearing the invisibility cloak."

"I cant believe we didn't realise." Buffy sighed, shaking her head.

"Of course we didn't realise." Giles cut in, "He is far too like you."

"Hey." Buffy protested, but couldn't help a small smile. "So… yeah, if the portkey was gone… how did you guys get there?"

"Well… we… sorta… made one." Hermione finished quietly, wincing slightly.

"You _made_ a portkey?" Buffy repeated.

"Uh-huh."

"You are so lucky that cos of Dumbledore Hogwarts is the only place that illegal portkeys go unnoticed." Buffy chuckled, "I swear you lot are all a lethal combination."

"He's gonna be ok though… right?" Luna asked, speaking for the first time since they'd got to the hospital.

"He'll be fine." Buffy said, forcing a smile, "Of course he'll be fine."

"He will be, Buffy." Willow said, wrapping an arm around her friend, and then glancing over at where Xander still sat. "They'll both be fine."

"_You know who_ is no more then." Fudge repeated, his voice sounding somewhere between excitement and total disbelief.

"Tom Riddle is deceased." Dumbledore replied with a sombre nod.

"May I ask how? For the papers, I mean..?"  
"You can tell the papers that he was cut down by divine lightening for all I care, Cornelius."

"But how was he killed, Dumbledore?" Fudge insisted.

"By a knife to the gut, like any other man."

"But…"

"He was only human, Cornelius."

"Yes… yes!" Fudge's eyes lit up, "Yes, that must be the headline! Voldemort: Only Human!" Dumbledore didn't fail to notice that now the dark lord was gone, Fudge had no problem saying the name.

"Is that all then, Cornelius?"

"Yes, yes… except… who, Dumbledore? Who, you know, _did it?_"

"That no one need know." Dumbledore replied.

"What? But they must… whoever it was is a hero- the world must know!"

"This person doesn't need the world to know."

"But Dumbledore…" The minister scoffed.

"I take my leave, Cornelius. Good evening."

"But…"

But Dumbledore was already gone.

Please please review!


	72. Aftermath

Ok guys, her we go- the last ever chapter of this fic… until I get my arse in gear and write the sequel that is!

A few notes from reviews from the last couple of chapters:

Kittie274- sorry, I'm not doing an epilogue because it seems a little pointless when I have a sequel planned!

Frankie and Jo- I used Portuguese for the spell cos it's the coolest language in the google translator!

Ooh, and I'm glad you all liked the Dumbledore bashing a few chapters back!

That's it.

All done.

And now for the main feature…

Chapter 72- Aftermath

"It's madness out there." Ron exclaimed, closing the door quickly with a foot as he carried the cups of coffee in. "Here." He held them out, and Hermione took one. He passed the second to Xander, and kept the third, joining Hermione at Harry's bedside. It was the next day, and Luna had been forced to return to school to get some sleep; Buffy and the other scoobies were attending a meeting about the action to be taken in coming weeks, but Xander, Ron, and Hermione remained.

"Thanks." Hermione said with a smile.

"No problem… just everyone is going wild. It's all over the papers, of course. I don't think there's any other news at all."

"No." Hermione chuckled, holding up the Daily prophet in her lap, "There's hundreds of stories about people with all sorts of illnesses suddenly recovering that night and crazy things like that."

"Let's see." Ron said, taking it from her. He looked over the article and chuckled, "It's great- 'My Morris's dahlias haven't grown properly in an age, not since he was attacked by deatheaters three years ago.' Said Dorris Dorkington yesterday afternoon, 'But last night he cried out to me, and I went to the garden with him- everything was in bloom again!"

"Sounds like a looney." Said a tired voice, and both teens gaped, crying,

"Harry?"

As they starred, his eyes fluttered opened, and he squinted over at them, forcing a smile.

"Here y'go mate." Ron said, passing him his glasses. "How'd you feel?"

"Like shit." Harry replied succinctly. Hermione giggled, tears in her eyes again, and hugged him,

"I'm so glad you're awake though."

"Hey kid." Xander said.

"Hey…What day is it?" Harry asked croakily.

"Thursday." Hermione told him, "You've been out nearly two days."

"Which considering we weren't sure what the hell would happen, really isn't so bad." Ron added with a smirk.

"I guess…" Harry said vaguely, "What… what _did_ happen? I mean… I remember him doing some spell, and then everything went, well… blank."

Neither of them could quite meet his eyes as they murmured,

"Well…"

"Guys?" Harry asked, frowning.

"Well… Harry… you died." Hermione managed to say.

"I died."

"Yup." Ron nodded, "Scared the crap outta all of us."

"So… erm… not to sound stupid or anything…"

"Mione and Willow did this well scary thing with a Plug docket…"

"Socket." Hermione corrected,

"And a sword."

Harry raised his eyebrows at his friends, and Hermione grinned,

"Hey, we were running low on ideas."

"So… then what?" Harry asked. "I mean… I was a bit groggy, but from what I heard just now it sounds like Voldemort's, like… well…"

"Dead?" Xander said hollowly.

"Well yeah." Harry replied, trying to crane his neck to see who was in the next bed, but Xander was in the way.

"Faith killed him." Hermione said quietly.

"I don't… how?" Harry stuttered. "I… she cant have…"

"She stabbed him." Ron said with a frown, "Why wouldn't she be able to?"

"The prophecy." Harry said before he'd even thought about it, "Either must die by the hand of the other… Only I could kill him… if he killed me it should have been over…"

"Prophecy?" Hermione exclaimed, glancing at Ron, "_The_ prophecy? The one from last year?"

"Yes." Harry said dismissively, "I don't get it…"

"That's what Faith was saying…" Hermione gasped, "Either as in one or the other…"

"One or the other…" Harry repeated slowly, "So that if he'd already killed _me_…"

"Then anyone could kill him!" Ron finished off, beaming.

"Doesn't say anything about what happens to them though, does it?" Xander said, leaning back to allow Harry a view of the next bed. Faith was deathly pale, her lips bone dry, her hair lank and her hands rests on her stomach, sheets pulled up under her arms.

"What happened to her?" Harry asked after a pause. Xander shook his head,

"Not totally sure. Dumbledore reckons that Voldemort's hatred hurt her through his blood or something weird like that… she nearly died."

"Not to be blunt," Harry said, in that way that always means someone is going to be, "But well… if Voldemort had done something to make this happen… why didn't she?"

"Don't know." Xander sighed, "I don't know."

"No one knows what's going to happen." Hermione whispered to Harry, "They're not sure if this is her recovering, or slowly… y'know…"

"Damn." Harry breathed, resting back against the piled pillows. Every one was quiet for a while, until Harry looked around and said, "Where is everyone? Did anyone else get hurt?"

"Not seriously, thank god." Hermione replied. "Everyone had cuts and bruises and that, but not too much. Dumbledore made them go back to school." She chuckled, "They practically had to drag Luna out, Harry. She was really worried."

Harry smiled, unable to help feeling a little lifted by the thought of her really caring for him.

"And Buffy?" He asked.

"Meeting about what happens now." Ron said.

"What happens now…" Harry repeated with a sigh, "How weird is that… Voldemort is _gone_. For good." He choked a laugh, "I'm a normal kid."

Hermione actually laughed at that,

"Oh you'll never be normal, Harry, not a chance."

Over the next few days, Harry got better quickly with a few vile tasting potions, and about a tonne of chocolate from various friends. Ron and Hermione were eventually dragged back to school, though the whole group were able to visit Harry frequently. Buffy was there nearly all the time, though Harry knew that her vigil over him was more of an excuse for being there with Xander, who still wouldn't leave Faith's side. She hadn't stirred all week. Her condition hadn't changed. It seemed that whatever had stopped her dying might not be enough to fully overcome the evil seeped into her from Voldemort.

When Harry was asleep, Buffy pulled up a chair next to Xander, putting an arm around him,

"How you holding up, Xand?"

"I'm ok." He replied, forcing a smile.

"You should get some sleep you know."

"I've slept a bit."

"Sitting here? So doesn't count."

"I… Buffy you know I cant go…"

"She's in good hands, Xander." Buffy said, knowing it was unlikely to make a difference.

"And even they don't know what's wrong with her." He said, the effort to keep his voice from cracking clear. "I cant leave Buff, in case…" he looked away, at some random spot on the floor.

"I know…" Buffy sighed, leaning her head against his shoulder, "I know…"

"I just wish there was something I could do. I know it sounds crazy, Buffy… I know Willow thinks I'm mad, she hasn't spoken to me since… but I love her, I really do. I love her, and it hurts so much."

"And she loves you too." Buffy said quietly. He chuckled mirthlessly,

"We'd never said that." He admitted, "I'd thought it so many times… I don't think I ever expected to hear it back from her."

"She's the kind of person that never says something like that until she really means it." Buffy said, smiling softly, except that the smile slowly turned into a frown of understanding- she'd been running things through her mind since it had all happened, "She'd never said it before. She'd never admitted it."

"What?" Xander said, shocked by the sudden change of tone.

"She hadn't even admitted it to herself, until then. Then when the hatred and evil was gonna consume her, and you told her, and she finally admitted it, felt it…" Buffy gaped at first Faith, and then into Xanders eyes, "It kept her alive. That's what it was, Xander… it fought the hatred… Harry told me that Dumbledore has always said the greatest weapon against Voldemort, what kept Harry alive when our parents were killed, was love. So what if that still applies? The love between you stopped his power or hatred, or whatever the hell it was…"

"I… is that possible?"

"No clue." Buffy said, "But it's all we got."

"But I don't see how that can help..." Xander said forlornly, "If that's the strongest weapon, and we've used it already…"

"Maybe it just takes time, Xand." Buffy said, squeezing his hand, "She's strong, she'll make it."

"God I hope so."

So several nights later, after Harry had been discharged, Xander still sat at Faith's side. He held one of Faith's hands in his own, his arms rested on the bed, and his head on them as he slept. The first little movement didn't disturb him, nor the tiny moan that escaped her lips. It was only when she opened her eyes, starring fearfully up at the dark ceiling, and moved her hand, that Xander snapped awake. She gasped at his sudden movement, her head jerking up, causing her to groan with pain.

"F… Faith?" Xander exclaimed, barely believing his eyes.

"…Xander..?" She was trying to sit up, still confused about where she was and what had happened.

"Oh my god, you're awake."

"Aren't I usually?"

"Not of late." He chuckled quietly. "Relax, lie back."

"Where am I?" She asked, a frown still set on her face.

"St.Mungos. You've been here nearly a week."

"A _week?_ I don't… why? What…?"

"Calm down." He whispered, "It's ok. You did it, Faith, you got rid of Voldemort."

She nodded vaguely, murmuring,

"I know… I remember that… but afterwards…?"

"You collapsed."

"…Everything went all blurry… everything hurt…and then…" The frown deepened, "Then you were holding me." She seemed surprised, but she finally lay back with a wince.

"Yeah." Xander replied, "You scared me." As if she hadn't even heard, she continued,

"You were holding me, talking to me… and then…" She looked up at him in the darkened room, her deep brown eyes confused and child-like, "You said…?"

Xander nodded, smiling softly.

"I love you." He repeated. She looked away, turning on her side. "Faith?"

She didn't reply.

"…Faith?"

"Then I said it too." She murmured quietly.

"Yes." He agreed, his voice wavering ever so slightly. He paused, then asked, "Did you mean it?"

For a long moment she said nothing, her feelings and her instinctive defensively nature battling within her. Then, when Xander was almost convinced that she would not answer, she replied in little more than a breath,

"Yes." She rolled back, wincing slightly, and he saw that she had tears in her eyes again, "Of course I do… but it's stupid. It cant be… we've been through this!"

"I don't care!" Xander exclaimed, "I love you, and that's that. I wont hide it any longer, and I wont give it up without a fight."

"But Anya…"

"We split up, Faith." He chuckled ironically, "She could tell that my mind was on other things."

"The others…"

"Heard what we said. They know."

"But my studies, Hogwarts… your home is…"

"Where ever it needs to be." Xander finished before she could. "I told you. I love you, and as far as I'm concerned, that comes first."

Faith chuckled wetly,

"Then you're an idiot."

"But hey, we knew that already." He grinned, tucking a tangled strand of hair behind her ear, his thumb brushing her cheek as he did so. She closed her eyes briefly, relishing the soft touch. Then he leant over, and she sat up a little, and their lips met so gently that Faith's pain, at least for a moment, was forgotten, and Xander's heart, so stressed and frail over the past days, felt fit to burst.

"I love you." Faith chuckled when they parted, as if trying to come to terms with saying it. She bit her lip, and grinned, "I love you."

Soon afterwards, when the healers allowed Faith to leave St. Mungos, the group was finally reunited back at Hogwarts. They all piled into Buffy's room, everyone hugging Faith and welcoming her home. No one wanted to mention what had happened, and they immediately slipped into idle banter as they sipped drinks and nibbled snacks. They all felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off not just their shoulders but the entire school... perhaps even the whole wizarding world.

Buffy, her head leant on George's shoulder, watching Harry talk animatedly with his friends (Luna cuddled up next to him) smiled, and it finally reached her eyes. She knew there would be more to come- in a month or two she would doubtless discover another rising evil, or an impending apocalypse… but for the moment, that didn't matter. She wasn't thinking about what she would do now- stay at Hogwarts, or return to Sunnydale now that the threat was eliminated? She was content, and for this slayer, that was rare.

Summer exams were cancelled, except of course for OWLS and NEWTS, and Dumbledore announced that a huge party would take place on the last night of term instead of the normal end of term feast, to celebrate the true defeat of Voldemort- the wizarding world was free once more. The scoobies stayed for the party, and all the students found that it had an incredible air of community- the divides between the houses were thinner than ever, due, at least in part, to Draco, Amity and Luna's integration into the large group. So the term ended on a phenomenal high, very few students (and most of them Slytherins) finding anything to complain about.

The scoobies, including Buffy Harry and Faith (who it was decided would stay with the Potters), all returned to Sunnydale by floo powder, the large group parting with many hugs and kisses and promises of frequent letters.

"You guys will have to come visit!" Harry insisted, grinning wider than he ever had before at the end of term. He was going with Buffy, to Sunnydale, not Privet drive. He'd never looked forward to the holidays more. The last person he said goodbye to was Luna, who he kissed deeply, and said, "I love you. I'll write, ok?"

"Love you too." She replied, blushing, as everyone else was pretending not to watch, "See you soon."

Then it was only moments before Harry was once again standing in Buffy's front room in Revello Drive. _This_ was home. Buffy grinned at him, and they lugged their Bags up the stairs to dump them in their rooms.

Harry sat on the edge of his bed, looking around the room with a broad smile. _His_ room. The one he'd had so much fun decorating all those months ago. It's seemed like years since then. Everything had changed! Draco Malfoy was their friend, Ron and Hermione were together, Buffy and George, Faith and Xander, he and Luna. Voldemort was dead, Sirius was not only alive but also cleared… Life was, for the moment at least, good.

Buffy was thinking something similar as she looked out of the window over the dark town, her town. She hadn't realised how much she had missed Sunnydale. Life had totally changed since she'd last stood here. She sighed happily, and went back down, meeting Harry on the stairs. She flung an arm round her brother, chuckling.

"Good to be back?" Giles asked with a smirk.

"Yeah." Buffy replied, "It really is. I mean, I love Hogwarts… but this is home."

"Yeah." Harry agreed, getting an even bigger grin from Buffy.

"So how does it feel to be normal, kid?" Faith asked Harry. Everyone went quiet- It was the first time anyone had even vaguely mentioned Voldemort's demised to him since he'd left the hospital… but he grinned,

"It feels good." He replied.

It was then that the window shattered, and a jet black owl swooped in, dropping deep red envelope into Faith's lap.

"What the fuck?" She exclaimed. Everyone watched as she picked it up- yes, it was addressed to her, and her frown deepened as she opened it. The writing was deep red too, and Buffy could see the disgust and fear growing in Faith's eyes as she read it.

"Oh god… Faith…your hands…" Willow suddenly exclaimed. Faith took one hand away from the paper to find it covered in blood. She cried out, dropping the letter with revulsion and leaping to her feet. She glanced at Buffy once, clearly terrified, and hurried off to the bathroom. Buffy knelt to see the letter, careful not to touch it, and read:

_My Dearest Daughter,_

_I congratulate you on your magnificent feat. Much as I admired our great lord, your defeat of him merely shows the power in your blood- our blood. I do not know if you noticed that I was not bought in with my fellows, I doubt you even gave me a thought once you knew your precious friends were safe. But now, my dear, you will. For in your veins, whether you like it or not, flows my blood. It is this that led you to your greatest moments, in Sunnydale and in England, And this which will bring you to me soon._

_You do remember, all those years ago, when our family was four fold? I presume your mother never explained the truth, dearest Faith. I wouldn't have expected her to tell you that your darling Kali now lived with me. Her blood brings you this notice, as it will bring you back to us eventually._

_Decline, and she too will know that you care none for her, and are truly lost to our family._

_Don't defy your blood, my sweet killer,_

_await my call._

_All my love,_

_Your Father._

Buffy frowned, looking it over again. She shook her head vaguely, and headed to the bathroom.

"Faith?" She called through the door. When there was no reply, she tried the knob, and found the door unlocked. But Faith wasn't at the sink as Buffy had expected. She was crouched over the toilet, being violently sick. "Oh god… Faith… are you ok?" Buffy knelt beside her, rubbing her back. Faith pulled the toilet lid down and flushed it, resting her arm on the lid, and her head on her arm. "He was really your father then?" Buffy asked softly.

"Must be." Faith murmured, staring vacantly. Buffy bit her lip hesitantly, and then asked,

"Faith… who's Kali?"

Now Faith's eyes focussed on her fellow slayer, full of confusion, anger and fear.

"Kali..." She said quietly, as if it pained her greatly even to say it, "Kali was… is… My sister."

THE END

:D

Oh come on, how many of you seriously thought I would end it nicely?

Please review!

I wanna thank you all for sticking with me all this time, and keeping me going with your wicked reviews and tips.

One last shout out, now that you'll have nothing to do with your time without my story to read sigh - all go read Becks89, Witchlight, shootingstar19 and Fanfic Frankie!

Thanks dudes!

Lotsa love

Sam


	73. PROLOGUE TO SEQUEL AND AUTHOR NOTE

Hi everyone,

I wasn't sure how best to reach all the people who have sent me messages asking whether the sequel to 'It's all in the blood' would ever actually happen, so I figured I would add this teaser to the end of the story so that anyone with it in their favourites should get a memo.

It may have taken me four years to get myself in gear, and it really isn't my fault as I have been at uni and havn't really had time to write (and so shouldn't be writing this right now!!), and after writing one chapter I got a bit of a block on it I'm afraid... but still better late than never, right? For some reason (probably has something to do with my mind coming up with any way possible to procrastinate from my dissertation) I've had a bit of a spark recently and I have written a bit more of the sequel, so I thought I should give you a bit.

However, I must stress that I cannot guarantee that I will be able to keep writing. I will not promise that this story will keep coming or be anything compared to its prequel, but I will say that I will try!

So, here we go, this is just a tiny snippet, to whet your appetite, from the very beginning of the sequel... which I haven't actually come up with a name for yet so any ideas are very very welcome! The quicker I have a name the sooner I can post the first chapter!

**Prologue**

In a darkened room, only a sliver of moonlight illuminating the place with an eerie glow, a quill scratches rapidly over crisp parchment. Small, neat writing is left in its wake, and the girl's eyes never leave the page as she writes. Her thick dark hair is pulled back tight in a vain attempt to tame it. The robes she wears are all black, matching all other fabric in the room, from the floor to ceiling, curtains to the carpet beneath her modest shoes. She swallows nervously, glancing quickly at a huge old clock against one wall. She writes faster. She must finish. Time is running out… oh lord if she isn't finished when he returns… a cold sweat beads on her brow as fear flows in her veins. She hears footsteps in the hall. He's coming. _No…_ A key turns in the lock. _Oh lord_. The door swings open…

When I say tiny I mean it! Sorry. Chapter one to follow soon!

Please review with any comment, obviously there isn't really much TO review, but this will give me some idea whether there is actually still any interest in this happening!


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